Richmond, Va. – The Villanova golf team is set to play its second event of the season at the VCU Invitational in Richmond, Va. The tournament will be held at the Country Club of Virginia's Tuckahoe Creek Course.
 
The tournament will be a 54-hole event, with the first two rounds on Monday, Sept. 16 and the final round the following day. Each day will begin with a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m.
 
"We are excited to build on a solid first weekend," said Villanova assistant coach Pat Aylward. "The Country Club of Virginia will provide a great test for our young team. It is a fantastic course and always in great shape. The VCU Invitational always attracts a very strong field and is one of the tournaments the guys really look forward to playing."
 
Villanova will bring the same starting five as the first tournament: Mark Benevento, Noah Peck, Jack O'Hara, Danny Dougherty and Matt Minerva. Additionally, Matt Davis will participate as an individual for his first competitive rounds of the 2019-20 season.
 
Peck was the low-man for the Wildcats last weekend, when he carded a 6-over for the tournament and finished T18th individually. While Peck led the way, there were good scores for each golfer during the event. Minerva shot a career-best 71 in the second round and O'Hara shot his career-best 72 in the opening round. Dougherty shot his second-best round ever with a 74 in the final round when Benevento also fired a 74.
 
"Newcomers Noah Peck and Matt Minerva have stepped right into the lineup and we look forward to them having another solid week," Coach Aylward said.
 
Tuckahoe Creek is a Joseph Lee design, laid out as a par-72, 6,927-yard course. The course sits on historic land that was once part of Thomas Jefferson's childhood home. The course has a variety of challenges across its 18 holes, with 76 bunkers, seven lakes and a creek that affect play throughout the round. The back nine will likely play as the tougher portion of the course with a slope rating of 147.
 
While last weekend's course at Colgate was new to the team, Tuckahoe Creek is a familiar course, with the team having participated briefly in the same event last season. However, the event was called after just a few holes due to rain.
 
"Senior captain Mark Benevento and the trio of sophomores Matt Davis, Jack O'Hara and Danny Dougherty have all played the golf course and we will be relying a lot on their experience this week," Coach Aylward said.
 
The field at this year's tournament will consist of 12 teams: Boston College, Georgetown, George Washington, JMU, Loyola Maryland, Maryland, ODU, Richmond, Radford, Virginia Tech and of course Villanova and the host, VCU.
 
Only four other teams have competed so far this season and VCU took home the title at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational last weekend. Many of the teams in this weekend's field had events scheduled for the South Carolina coast, but were canceled due to Hurricane Dorian.
 
Follow along with the action throughout the tournament on Golfstat, and with updates on twitter @VillanovaGolf.