FRESNO, Calif. – The Pacific men's golf team, fresh off a tenth-place finish at the USF-Howard Intercollegiate to open the season, has their eyes set on the Nick Watney Invitational, hosted by Fresno State, starting on Monday, Sept. 25 at the Fort Washington Country Club.
 
The two-day event marks the tenth straight season the Tigers will participate in the Nick Watney Invitational. Last year, the Tigers turned in an 11^th-place performance in the 14-team field. Long Beach State finished in first place in last season's Nick Watney Invitational with a 30-under-par 822.
 
This year's 14-team field features nine schools from California (Pacific, Cal Baptist, CSU Fullerton, CSUN, Fresno State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's (CA), UC Irvine, and UC Riverside) and three schools from Utah (Southern Utah, Utah State and Utah Valley). Gonzaga and Seattle University round out the competition.
 
The starting lineup for Pacific will be Carlos Astiazaran, Petr Janik, Maverick Pavletich, Timothy Jung and Alex Barclay. Samuel Pampling will also compete as an individual in the tournament.
 
Asitazaran played in his first collegiate tournament last weekend in San Francisco, earning the Tigers' best position – a tie for 33rd place – with a one-over 217 (71, 75, 71).
 
Of the returnees from the 2023-24 roster, Pavletich retained the Tigers' best score in last season's Nick Watney Invitational with a three-over 216 (71, 71, 73), which put him in a tie for 44th. Janik and Jung both secured a tie for 54th place in the 2022 Nick Watney Invitational with a six-over 219.
 
Barclay did not participate in the Nick Watney Invitational last season, but the native of Pleasanton, Calif., looks to build off his 10-over 226 (73, 74, 79) in this year's season opener.

Pampling will make his Tigers' debut as an individual on Monday. Pampling joined the Tigers following a four-year career at Edward S. Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. While with the Marauders, Pampling earned multiple honors throughout his four-year tenure, including being named to the 6A All-District and Region I All-Regional Teams during his junior and senior seasons.
 
The 2023 Nick Watney Invitational will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 am on Monday, with rounds one and two set for the first day of action. Teams will then conclude play with their final 18 holes on Tuesday with split tee teams starting at 8:30 am. Live scoring of the tournament will be available via Golfstat.