Men's Golf Releases 2015-16 Schedule
8/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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HOUSTON -- The University of Houston Men's Golf program will compete against some of the nation's premier programs throughout the 2015-16 season as Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke released the team's schedule on Friday afternoon.
The Cougars will compete in five team events during the fall season and six tournaments in the spring regular--season campaign before starting postseason play in late May. Houston will compete as far north as Sugar Grove, Ill, as far south as Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as far east as Palm City, Fla., and could play as far west as Eugene, Ore., at the NCAA Championships.
"We are always looking to compete at championship venues," said Dismuke, who starts his seventh season at Houston in 2015-16. "Much of our schedule will stay the same from year to year, but we try to include 2-4 new events to mix it up a bit and play in different parts of the country."
FALL SEASON
The fall season opens Sept. 11-13 when the Cougars tee off at the Northern Intercollegiate, hosted by Northern Illinois at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. From there, Houston closes out the month at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate hosted by Graeme McDowell at Shoal Creek in Birmingham, Ala., on Sept. 28-29.
Houston opens the first of three tournaments in the month of October at the Utah Invitational on Oct. 5-6 at The Jeremy Golf & Country Club in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Cougars will host the first of five tournaments on Oct. 12-13 when they team with Rice and Sam Houston State at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic at Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland, Texas. Houston will welcome Rice, Sam Houston State, Denver, Kansas, Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette, McNeese State, North Texas, Southern Miss, Texas State, Tulsa and UTSA in the field.
The team closes out the fall season on Oct. 26-27 at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in Dallas. However, senior All-American Blair Hamilton will have one more event on his fall schedule. The Burlington, Ontario, Canada, native will compete at the Western Refining College All-American Classic at El Paso Country Club in El Paso, Texas, on Nov. 7-8.
This marks the second straight event in which a Cougar was selected to compete at this premier individual event after Roman Robledo tied for 13th in 2014.
SPRING SEASON
After a 3-month winter break, the Cougars open the spring season with the return of the All-American Intercollegiate on Feb. 19-21 at Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas. While the All-American Intercollegiate has a long history with the University of Houston Men's Golf program, this will be the first time since April 2012 that the Cougars have hosted the prestigious event.
"This is a great tournament for us, and it comes at a great time for us. The All-American Intercollegiate has a lot of history with all the teams and great players that have competed in Houston," Dismuke said. "We are going to continue to bring in some of the best teams and players in the country. We will have several All-Americans in the field, and the name is a tribute to them."
The Cougars will partner with Rice to play host to Arkansas, Charleston Southern, Houston Baptist, McNeese State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Northern Illinois, Sam Houston State, SMU, South Carolina, Troy and UTSA.
Created under legendary Head Coach Dave Williams, the All-American Intercollegiate began in 1955 and was played once every year through 1990. As hosts, the Cougars have won 23 team championships with 20 individual titles during the All-American Intercollegiate history.
From there, the team goes international with their play at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate on Feb. 28-March 1 at Querencia Golf Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. There, the Cougars will compete against Arkansas, Baylor, California, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, Oregon State, Rice, Stanford, USF, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Washington.
Houston plays host to the Border Olympics on March 11-12 at Laredo Country Club in Laredo, Texas, in a field with Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette, McNeese State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Notre Dame, Rice, Sacramento State, St. Mary's, Sam Houston State, Southern Miss, Stephen F. Austin, Texas State, UALR, ULM, UTEP and UTSA.
The Cougars host their fifth and final event on March 21-22 when they welcome an elite field to the Valspar Collegiate Invitational at Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Fla. That group includes Arkansas, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kent State, LSU, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M and USF.
The Cougars open the month of April when they compete at the 3M Augusta Invitational on April 2-3 at Forest Hills Country Club in Augusta, Ga. This annual trip is always a highlight for the Cougars as they have the opportunity to watch the Monday practice at The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club following competition before returning home to Houston.
Houston wraps up the regular season on April 16-17 at the Maxwell Intercollegiate, hosted by Oklahoma at Dornick Hills Country Club in Ardmore, Okla.
POSTSEASON
The Cougars begin postseason play on May 1-3 when they tee off at the American Athletic Conference Championship on The Quarry Course at Black Diamond Ranch in LeCanto, Fla.
Houston looks to make NCAA Regional play for the fifth consecutive season in 2015-16. NCAA Regionals will be held May 16-18 at the following sites: Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Ol' Colony Golf Complex); Tucson, Ariz. (Gallery Golf Club); Kohler, Wisc. (Meadow Valley Course -- Blackwolf Run); Albuquerque, N.M. (Championship Course at UNM); Stillwater, Okla. (Karsten Golf Club); Nashville, Tenn. (Vanderbilt Legends Club).
The top-5 teams at each NCAA Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, slated for May 27-June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
"I like our group. We have a lot of energy right now, because the guys are excited to get going. With 11 underclassmen, this is a relatively young bunch, but we have quite a bit of talent," Dismuke said. "We just need to show up every day and try to get better. We are looking for 1-percent gains every day. If we can get just a little bit better, a little bit smarter, a little bit more aware each and every day, we are going to be a good group by the end of the year."
A year ago, the Cougars captured the team title at the Miramont Invitational and won a 1-hole team playoff against Purdue at the NCAA Lubbock Regional to clinch the final spot for the NCAA Championships. It was the fourth straight season in which Houston competed in NCAA Regional play and marked the second straight year Houston advanced to the NCAA Championships.
Blair Hamilton returns for his senior season after receiving PING All-America Honorable Mention honors. He won two individual titles, including the NCAA Lubbock Regional, and topped the Cougars with a 72.03 scoring average.
Hamilton is one of eight lettermen returning in 2015-16, joining fellow senior Vincent Martino, juniors Emmett Oh and Matt Scobie, sophomores Alan De Bondt, Joshua Gibbons, Papito Gonzalez and Michael Perras. That veteran group also welcomes back junior Matt Dunn and freshman Matt Williams, who sat out a year ago as redshirts.
The Cougars will be boosted with the addition of freshmen George Gardner (Southlake, Texas/Carroll HS); Zach Tracy (Houston, Texas/Seven Lakes HS); Sam Elkington (Cypress, Texas/Cypress Creek HS) and redshirt freshmen transfers (Carson Cavner (Jupiter, Fla./The Pine School/Lamar) and Jacob Veerman (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements HS/Texas A&M).
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Players Mentioned
