Hokies back in their home state at the Janney Invitational

Tech looks to defend team title

September 17, 2017

The Virginia Tech men’s golf team continues their season on Monday and Tuesday, at the Janney Invitational, hosted by VCU. The two-day event will be played at the par 72, 6,933-yard Tuckahoe Creek at the Country Club of Virginia.

This year’s Janney Invitational features a 12-team field. Tech will be the lone ACC team playing. Joining them will be Radford, Old Dominion, George Washington, Richmond, Coastal Carolina, Rutgers, West Virginia, Charlotte, Maryland, JMU, and VCU.

The Hokies will be led by sophomore Sarit Suwannarut from Bangkok, Thailand. He finished third in last season’s Janney Invitational. He was second in scoring and third in crunch time average last season.

Playing second for the Hokies is Blake Fiest, a junior from Huntersville, North Carolina. He will continue in the starting lineup this week after having his best-ever finish for 28^th place overall at the Gopher Invitational. He tied for 11th at the 2017 North Carolina Amateur this summer.

Playing third for Tech is Slade Pickering, a freshman from North West, South Africa. Slade made his collegiate debut at the Gopher Invitational. Prior to Tech, he won numerous events as a junior in his native country.

Connor Burgess, from Lynchburg, Virginia is the second freshman in the Tech lineup this week, after making his collegiate debut in Minnesota. He was the 2016 VSGA Junior Player of the year as well as winner of the Greg Norman AJGA event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this past July.

Ian Hildebrand will finish out the starting lineup for the Hokies. The senior from Purcellville, Virginia is making his first appearance of the fall. He competed in both the 2017 VSGA State Amateur and 2017 State Open in Virginia, finishing at 13^th at the 2017 State Open of Virginia over the summer.

Dan Woodbury will compete as an individual at the Janney Invitational. The senior from Upton, Massachusetts is making his first appearance of the fall.

Last year Virginia Tech ran away from the field during the final round, led by 2017 graduate Joey Lane who finished in a share for first with James Madison 2017 graduate Ryan Cole.

In the season opener this year, the Hokies finished 11th in the Minnesota Invitational, finishing at 8-under par, competing against two other ACC teams. Mark Lawrence Jr. tied for fifth place.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MGolf