VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's golf team opens the 2022-23 season Monday and Tuesday at The Griffin Invitational at Southern Hills Golf Club in Brooksville, Fla.  The tournament will consist of two 18-hole rounds on Monday and a third 18-hole round on Tuesday on the par 72, 7,557-yard course.  The tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m., both days.
 
Fans can access links to live stats of the tournament by clicking here and check back with vstateblazers.com for complete recaps each day following the rounds.  
 
The Blazers are under the direction of 21^st-year head coach Jared Purvis and the team kicks off the season with senior Ryan Pollman at the top spot in the lineup, followed by freshman Joshua Buerki.  Senior Chase Weathers is third, followed by sophomore transfer Gage Winkler and rounding out the lineup is freshman Ty Folsom.  Sophomore Brandon Cho will be playing as an individual.
 
VSU has not played in The Griffin since Sept. 18-19, 2017, where the team finished eighth with an 871 score.  That edition was at Streamsong Resort in Streamsong, Fla.  Last season, the Blazers narrowly missed the NCAA Super Regional as a team as it hosted the regional tournament at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, with former Blazer Wesley Hanson earning an individual spot in the regional.  In the lineup to begin this season, both Pollman and Weathers were mainstays last season, while sophomore Brandon Cho also saw some action in 2021-22.
 
The first Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll was released on Friday with defending national champion and Gulf South Conference foe Lee leading the way, followed by Barry (Fla.), Oklahoma Christian, Lincoln Memorial and Georgia Southwestern rounded out the top five.  West Florida was seventh, while West Georgia sat 22^nd among ranked teams from the GSC.  VSU and Christian Brothers were among others receiving votes from the conference.  
 
Arguably the toughest Super Regional in the country between the South and Southeast Regionals, there are seven teams from the South Region in the top 25, while the Southeast Region features nine teams.   
 
The 2022-23 edition of The Griffin features five ranked teams from the Golfweek poll and two receiving votes.  Barry leads the way as mentioned earlier at No. 2, while UWF is seventh, followed by Florida Southern at 12^th, Nova Southeastern 15^th and the host Saint Leo Lions at 18^th.  VSU and Tampa both are receiving votes.  The rest of the 13-team field includes; Lynn, Wilmington (Del.), Fayetteville State (N.C.), Rollins, Palm Beach Atlantic and Eckerd.  
 
Following the tournament, the Blazers travel to Columbus, Ga., for the AFLAC Cougar Invitational Sept. 26-27 at Green Island Country Club.