Feb. 11, 2005
ORLANDO - Monday may be Valentine's day, but it will be a display of golf rather than love for 18 teams, including the host Golden Knights, as they begin the Fourth Annual UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate with 36 holes of competition at Rio Pinar Country Club. The 54-hole event will conclude with 18 holes Tuesday.
Defending champion South Alabama returns and will be joined by four teams ranked among the nation's top 50 in the field. Nick Clinard's UCF team, ranked 49th in the latest Golfweek poll, is coming off a fifth-place showing at the SunTrust Gator Invitational last week. Freshman Chris Anderson (Lake Mary, Fla./Seminole HS) made his collegiate debut in Gainesville and finished in a tie for ninth.
Other teams in the top 50 include Louisville and Texas-Arlington, ranked 37th and 38th, respectively, and 48th ranked Lamar. It's the first appearance in the tournament for Louisville, while Lamar finished fourth last year and UTA finished fifth. There are five other teams in the field ranked in the top 88: UNC-Greensboro (75), Tulane (76), Mississippi State (77), Charlotte (86) and UNC-Wilmington (88).
The Jaguars defeated UCF on the first playoff hole last year after both teams finished at 1-under-par, while South Alabama's Gareth Maybin claimed medalist honors at 8-under-par.
Rio Pinar's 6,978-yard par 72 layout is no stranger to top flight competition as the course was home to the PGA Tour's Citrus Open from 1966-78 and the LPGA's Ladies Citrus Classic from 1978-81.
The action starts Monday with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Play resumes Tuesday with teams starting on the first and 10th tees beginning at 8 a.m. The leaders will begin their Tuesday round at 9:30. The event is open to the public and there is no charge for admission.
UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate Field: UCF, Charlotte, Davidson, East Carolina, Iowa State, Jacksonville State, Lamar, Louisville, Mercer, Mississippi State, Richmond, South Alabama, Texas-Arlington, Tulane, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Wilmington, USF, Wofford