Golf Ready to Go at C-USA Championship
4/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 17, 2005
GULFPORT, Miss. - After a two-week break from action, the University of Houston golf team begins competition Monday at the 2005 Conference USA Championship at The Grand Bear.
The Cougars, under the leadership of second-year head coach Vince Jarrett, join 13 other league rivals at the three-day tournament, including Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, Saint Louis, TCU, Tulane, UAB, USF and host Southern Miss.
The tournament will consist of 54 holes on the par-72, 7,200-yard course with 18 holes to be played each day through Wednesday. The winner of the tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to an NCAA Regional, scheduled for May 19-21.
The Cougars come into the tournament after finishing 14th at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate on April 4-5 in Austin, Texas. Despite that low finish, UH has enjoyed tremendous success during the 2004-05 regular season, finishing in the Top Five team leaders at six tournament, including team championships at the Cobb/Ferrell Mean Green Classic and the Palmetto Intercollegiate.
Sophomore Pablo Acuna leads the Cougars with a 74.0 scoring average but is only four strokes better than teammate and fellow sophomore Ricky Romano. Those two as well as junior Zach Mowbray are the only players to compete in all 11 tournaments to date during the 2004-05 season.
Other Cougar linksters scheduled to compete are freshman Jordan Irwin, who won medallist honors at the Palmetto Intercollegiate on March 14-15, junior Kevin Newman and junior transfer Adam Young.
The Cougars can boast of a rich history at the C-USA Championship, winning each of the first five team championships from 1997-01. However, state rival TCU has won each of the last three while the Cougars have posted three straight Top Six finishes.
A year ago, the Cougars finished sixth at the league's annual meet at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club in Dade City, Fla.
Players Mentioned
