Men's Golf Back in Action at Golfweek Conference Challenge
9/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 14, 2013
| NORTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE | |
|---|---|
| Lineup | Roman Robledo Blair Hamilton Curtis Reed Wesley McClain James Ross |
| Time | Sept. 15 • 9 a.m. • 18 holes • off No. 1 and No. 10 Sept. 16 • 9 a.m. • 18 holes • off No. 1 and No. 10 Sept. 17 • 8:30 a.m. • 18 holes • Shotgun start |
| Location | Spirit Hollow Golf Course Burlington, Iowa 7,301 yards • Par 72 |
| Live Scoring | GolfStat.com |
| Team Field | Houston, Arizona, New Mexico, Central Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Texas State, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville State, Chattanooga, Virginia Tech Louisiana Tech, LSU, Ball State, Winthroop |
| Statistics | Season Statistics |
| Social Media |   |
The three-day, 54-hole event tees off at 9 a.m., (CT) Sunday, and runs through Tuesday on the 7,301-yard, par-72 layout at Spirit Hollow Golf Course.
Fans can follow live scoring by visiting GolfStat.com and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.
THE LINEUP
Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke and associate head coach Chris Hill juggled the lineup a bit and will compete with junior Roman Robledo, seniors Curtis Reed, James Ross and Wesley McClain and sophomore Blair Hamilton.
In his last outing, Robledo captured the individual title at the Northern Intercollegiate with a score of 5-under-par 211. It was the Harlingen, Texas, native's second win in his last three collegiate events. He captured the 2013 Conference USA individual crown in late April at Texarkana Country Club in Texarkana, Ark.
"Roman's performance was extraordinary," Dismuke said. "He drove the ball very well. It set up for him to have shorter clubs in, and he took advantage of that situation. I'm excited for him. It's hard to win at this level, but he has done it twice in his last three events."
Hamilton finished eighth with a score of 216 and opened that tournament with a career-low 67, while Reed tied for 12 at 218. Hamilton kick-started his season with outstanding play during the summer after advancing to the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur Championship in mid-August, becoming the first Cougar since 1999 to accomplish that feat.
Reed is the only Cougar to compete in every team-scoring event during his Houston collegiate career and recently moved into the program's top-20 career leaders in both strokes and rounds played.
McClain is a three-year letterman and tied for 29th at last week's Northern Intercollegiate with a score of 224.
Ross will make his season debut after sitting out as a redshirt a year ago. In 2011-12, the Edinburgh, Scotland, native finished second on the team with a 73.13 scoring average and tied for second at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic.
He was honored as the Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year earlier this week after an outstanding summer season that saw him lead Scotland to the finals of the European Team Amateur Championship in Denmark.
THE FIELD
The tournament features some of the top collegiate teams from across the country, each representing a different conference. Although they are the defending Conference USA champions, the Cougars are competing for the first time as American Athletic Conference members and will proudly represent the new league.
Other teams scheduled to compete are Arizona (Pac-12); New Mexico (Mountain West); Central Arkansas (Southland); Oklahoma (Big 12); host Iowa (Big Ten); Texas State (Sun Belt); Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun); Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley); Chattanooga (Southern); Virginia Tech (ACC); Louisiana Tech (Conference USA); LSU (SEC); Ball State (MAC) and Winthrop (Big South).
"We are happy to represent the American Athletic Conference at this tournament," Dismuke said. `This is a strong golf conference with a lot of good teams, and it will be fun to have this opportunity. "We want to put a good foot forward for our University and the conference as well."
LAST TIME OUT
In their most recent competition, the Cougars opened the 2013-14 season with a third-place showing at the Northern Intercollegiate. Houston held the team lead through the first two days before being overtaken by UCF and Virginia in the final round.
"We got off to a good start. We played great in the first round and extended lead after the second," Dismuke said. "Unfortunately, we didn't play the way we normally do in the final round. When you compete on championship courses against great teams, you have to play better than we did in the final round."
As much as one can be disappointed with a third-place team finish, last week's play will only help the Cougars as they prepare for the Golfweek Conference Challenge and the rest of the season.
"We left the Northern Intercollegiate a more determined team," Dismuke said. "We had a good week of practice and more prepared for this event."
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive live scoring updates by following @UHCougarGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/HoustonCougarGolf.
UP NEXT
Following the Golfweek Conference Challenge, the Cougars will compete at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic for the fifth consecutive year. That tournament will be held Sept. 23-24 on the Warren Course at Notre Dame Golf Club.
A year ago, the Cougars tied for second at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic with Reed, McClain, Robledo and senior Jesse Droemer each finishing among the top-25 individual leaders.
It will be the third of four fall tournaments for the Cougars this season.
Players Mentioned
