April 23, 2006
ORLANDO - A conference championship and an NCAA Regional berth are on the line when UCF begins play Monday at the Conference USA Men's Golf Championship at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. The field of 12 teams will play 18 holes per day through Wednesday.
"It's always exciting to compete for a conference championship and the fact that a trip to an NCAA Regional is on the line makes this tournament that much more meaningful," UCF coach Nick Clinard said. "There are some strong programs in Conference USA and we will be playing at a challenging venue so I'm looking forward to seeing how the team responds."
Old Waverly, the site of the 1999 U.S. Women's Open is one ranked as one of the top 100 golf courses in the country by Golf Digest magazine. The 7,018-yard, par 72 layout is in great shape and should lend itself to low scores.
UCF is coming off an eighth-place finish at the Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. two weeks ago and has had a strong spring. Prior to that event, the Golden Knights tied for second at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, S.C.
Leading the charge for UCF has been Sonny Nimkhum. He paces the team with a 73.13 stroke average and has six rounds at par or better this year. He earned Conference USA Golfer of the Week honors March 29, for his play at the Hootie, where he posted a career-best third-place finish.
Giwon Suh is second to Nimkhum in scoring this season with a stroke average of 74.3. He leads the team with eight rounds at par or better and his best finish is a tie for seventh at the Gary Koch Invitational in October.
Greg Forest is playing well again as evidenced by his closing-round 3-under 68 at the Thunderbird Invitational. He started the semester hot in February by earning C-USA Golfer of the Week after tying for second at the UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate, but had struggled through the middle portion of the spring schedule.
Steven Bain is making his second appearance of the year, while Kyle Davis is making his 10th appearance, second only to Suh who is making his 11th appearance.