PHOENIX - For the third consecutive year, the Wichita State men's golf team will compete in the Grand Canyon University Invitational. 

The Shockers finished sixth in the 2017 event and placed seventh last year. Gage Ihrig led the Shockers with a 213 54-hole score, carding a 2-under par performance in the third round with a 69 to claim 12th. 

Wichita State looks to redeem itself after starting the spring season with a 10th place finish at The Farms Invitational and a 15th place finish at the 34th Annual Louisiana Classics. The Shockers will see four of their players from the scorecard at the Louisiana Classics, with Brock Polhill getting the nod to compete in his fifth event of the season. 

Senior Yannik Emmert is coming off his 11th top 20 career finish and third of the season, shooting a 72 in the final round of the Louisiana Classics that allowed him to tie for 15th place. Emmert claimed a birdie and a bogey in the final 18 holes, allowing to him finish the round shooting an even-par. 

Palmer Hays will play in his second straight event, coming off a career best finish after coming up in a tie for 38th and shooting a career low of 70 for an 18-hole round score and collected four birdies to move into a tie for 37th with four holes left to play. Hays shot an even-par for two of his final four holes and added a birdie to finish the third round with a 72 and a 2-under par. 

Freshman Dawson Lewis will make his seventh consecutive tournament appearance for Wichita State, the most by a freshman since the 2011-12 season. The last freshman to compete in seven or more tournaments for the Shockers was Louis Cohen Boyer, who assisted in all 13 events during his first season to help Wichita State to the Missouri Valley Title and another NCAA Regional appearance. 

Sophomore Zac Owens is coming off a 238 54-hole score and a tied for 83rd finish at the Louisiana Classics while Polhill came up in 68th at the Farms Invitational. Polhill came up with a 78 and an 85 in the first two rounds, but was unable to complete the third round due to team travel. 

In addition to host institution GCU, other teams in the tournament field include Missouri, Wyoming, UMKC, UTEP, Pacific, Northern Colorado, Hawaii, Riverside, North Dakota State, Columbia, Omaha, UTRGV, Sacramento State, Idaho, Western Carolina and Samford. Wichita State looks for its first head-to-head win against the field, having an 0-10 record against the teams from previous tournaments. 

Missouri eyes a repeat after claiming the 2018 GCU Invitational, having four players finish in the top 20 and combining for a team score of 850. Pacific finished two strokes behind the Tigers for a second place finish while GCU was six strokes back to claim third. 

Tee off will begin at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start, with 36 holes scheduled for Friday and the final 18 will be played on Saturday. Live stats will be available on Golfstat.