Before this season, WVU Golf had little history to be proud of.
Since the program’s return to the university in 2015, the Mountaineers had never placed higher than ninth at the Big 12 Tournament and only made it as far as the NCAA Regional round once in 2019.
Even in its original state, golf was not a program to brag about in Morgantown. The Mountaineers never won a conference title and made just one NCAA Tournament appearance, where, in 1947, WVU finished 39th of 39 teams.
Again, though, that was before this season. In 2023-2024, West Virginia made history, as after a promising fall season of match play, the Mountaineers saw several high finishes in spring invitationals, including first place honors at their home invitational on April 15.
It was one week after the Mountaineer Invitational that WVU made program history, finishing fifth overall at the Big 12 Championship. With the program-best finish, WVU also earned a bid to the Rancho Santa Fe Regional in May. WVU completed its historic run with a third-place finish in the regional round to qualify for the NCAA Championship, where the Mountaineers placed 28th of 30 teams.
Just like that, after eight seasons, it seems head coach Sean Covich has completed the revival of WVU Golf. While every step of this season was essential to reaching that end goal, there were key moments on the journey that appointed the current Mountaineers as history makers.
Red Bandanna Invitational: Max Green sets the stage for his legendary individual season
On Sept. 3 and 4, West Virginia kicked off its fall season in assertive fashion, traveling to Verona, N.Y. and winning the Red Bandanna Invitational. Being the only team within single-digit strokes of par was big for the lineup of Jackson Davenport, Oli Ménard, Max Green, Carson Kammann, and Harrison Thompson, but the real story was Green.
Max Green, a junior, burst onto the scene at Red Bandanna, finishing his first round of the invitational four-under-par. He stayed consistent through the next two rounds to finish three-under-par for the tournament and in first place among all individuals.
Green’s win made him just the third Mountaineer in history with two individual victories, as he won the ECU Intercollegiate in his freshman season. That victory early in his collegiate career was essential to Green’s progression, but the Red Bandanna win was arguably more so, as it set the tone for Green’s junior year.
Consistency was the key to Green’s success this season, and it took him far as the season progressed. Green shot the team-best score at eight of the Mountaineers’ 12 tournament appearances this year and three of WVU’s five 66-stroke rounds.
“Max Green (is) quietly having the best season in school history individually,” Sean Covich said on the 3 Guys Before The Game podcast before the team’s NCAA Championship appearance.
“He’s always been real consistent, but he has gotten stronger, he has gotten bigger, he’s developed so he’s hitting the ball further,” Covich said.
At the Rancho Sante Fe Regional and the NCAA Championship, Green reinforced Covich’s claims. In the regional round, Green finished sixth overall out of 72 individuals, shooting two 69s on the par-70 course and finishing one-under-par.
In Carlsbad, Calif. at the NCAA Championship, Green carried that momentum forward to shoot a team-best 76 in the first round and improved the next day to a 75. Green shot a 79 on day three.
Max Green earned PING All-Midwest Region Team honors this season and was the undisputed Player of the Year for WVU Golf. As he enters his senior year, all eyes will be on Green to see if he improves his play once again.
March 15-19: Mountaineers shine in two different states
Midway through March, five Mountaineers took the trip to Statesboro, Ga. for the Schenkel Invitational. Max Green led the squad, as usual, and was joined by seniors Will Stakel and Trent Tipton, junior Todd Duncan, and sophomore Kaleb Wilson.
Green headlined WVU’s appearance by placing second overall with a 10-under-par finish just behind South Carolina’s Nathan Franks, who shot 13 strokes under. While Green campaigned for WVU Athlete of the Week honors, though, senior Jackson Davenport made WVU Golf known one state over, in Tennessee.
Davenport played as an individual in the Bobby Nichols Invitational starting the Sunday that Green and company finished golfing. Along with senior Oli Ménard and sophomores Westy McCabe and Carson Kammann, Davenport shined in Tennessee, posting his own second-place finish and proving that he deserved a spot in the main lineup.
That week in March highlighted the versatility of WVU. Alongside Green, Will Stakel and Trent Tipton also finished at par or better in Georgia, while Oli Ménard joined Davenport with a top 10 finish at Bobby Nichols.
Outside of Green, who started for WVU in every tournament this season, coach Covich felt confident enough in his guys to mix and match the rosters at every turn before the conference championship. This week was one of WVU’s biggest presentations of why, with the other being just before the Big 12 Championship.
Mountaineer Invitational: WVU takes team title while individuals outside of the lineup shine
Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport saw a remarkable performance from its home team this April.
In the three-round invitational WVU posted two rounds at three-under-par before exploding for a -12 third round for a -18 total. West Virginia placed first with the remarkable finish, while no other team finished under par for the tournament.
West Virginia’s score set the new Mountaineer Invitational record, and for one of the few times in the season, the effort was not led primarily by Max Green.
Jackson Davenport, then back in the lineup for WVU, paved the way for the victory with rounds of 71-69-67=207 (-9). He was certainly not alone in his success, though, as all five golfers in WVU’s lineup finished in the top 25 of individuals.
Green, whose round splits were 66-72-71=209 (-7), placed fourth, while fellow junior Pierce Grieve followed closely with a 72-70-71=213 (-3) showing for sixth. Fifth-year senior Trent Tipton placed 21st (78-74-68=220) and contributed a strong four-under-par score in round three, and senior Will Stakel tied for 25th with a score of 76-75-70=221.
The lineup was not the only headline of WVU’s home invitational, though. Bringing five individuals, WVU was bound to have at least one shine without contributing to the team score. In reality, three Mountaineer individuals finished in the top 10.
Junior Todd Duncan and sophomore Kaleb Wilson, who spent considerable time in the main lineup for WVU this season, represented only themselves at the Mountaineer Invitational and tied for sixth and 10th respectively.
The third top 10 finisher for West Virginia, though, was the most successful. Sophomore Carson Kammann, who was in WVU’s lineup just twice this year, shocked everyone in Bridgeport by winning the individual tournament with rounds of 71-68-67=206 (-10).
Once again, the Mountaineer Invitational demonstrated West Virginia’s versatility en route to its success at the Big 12 Championship, the Rancho Santa Fe Regional and in its NCAA Championship appearance.
Though Green, Davenport, Duncan, Grieve, and Wilson earned the honor to represent their school at the three biggest tournaments of the year, several Mountaineers showed they were more than capable, including Kammann and freshman Harrison Thompson, who both have plenty of time in the future to earn their flowers with the program.
Regardless of how Sean Covich plays his cards going forward, though, it is clear that he has plenty at his disposal as WVU Golf continues to prove it is back as a top program in Morgantown.
Photo from WVU Men’s Golf