Feb. 24, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - After its spring season-opener this past week, the UCF men's golf team will be back in action on Monday as the team will host the UCF Rio Pinar Invitational. The tournament will take place at the Rio Pinar Country Club in Orlando.
Fourteen of the 18 teams in the field are ranked among the top-85 nationally according to Golfstat. Last year's tournament champion, Chattanooga, is currently ranked No.19. Ole Miss (22), UCF (29), and Louisville (32) are all ranked in the top-35.
UT-Arlington (38), Wichita State (39), Kentucky (49), North Florida (50), Ohio State (55), South Alabama (64), Memphis (73), Southern Miss (74), Old Dominion (78), and Iowa State (85) are all among the top-100 teams in the country.
Arkansas State, Mercer, Tulsa and USF are also competing in the event.
The two-day tournament will begin on Monday at 8 a.m., with each team scheduled to play 36 holes on the opening day. The final round of play will conclude Tuesday with the remaining 18 holes.
The Knights opened their spring campaign last week at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach. During last week's competition, junior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne) tied for ninth in the individual standings and as a result was named the Conference USA Golfer of the Week.
In addition to Johnson, senior Giwon Suh (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), juniors Greg Forest (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) and Preston Brown (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Nease) and sophomore Mike Stern (Miami, Fla./Killian) will all be in action for the Knights. Sophomore Nuno Henriques (Funchal, Portugal) and freshman Kyle Cobb (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon) will both compete as individuals.
Even though the Knights hosted last year's event, UCF did not compete in the tournament. Chattanooga won the 2007 tournament by posting an 862 (-2). Tulsa's Brett Myers was last year's medalist with a 208 (-8).
The tournament is open to the public. The Rio Pinar Country Club is located at 8600 El Prado Avenue in southeast Orlando.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.