Feb. 22, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Ranked 21st nationally, the UCF men's golf team will welcome 20 squads to Orlando Monday when the Knights host the Rio Pinar Invitational. Teams will play 36 holes Monday at the Rio Pinar Country Club and then conclude the tournament with one round Tuesday.
The event includes 10 squads ranked in the top-75 nationally according to the Golfstat NCAA Head-to-Head Standings: UCF (21), Ole Miss (26), Baylor (36), Louisville (37), Augusta State (41), VCU (48), Ohio State (51), Kentucky (59), Vanderbilt (62) and Texas-Arlington (68).
Akron, Connecticut, East Carolina, Iowa State, Memphis, Mercer, UNC-Greensboro, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, USF and Wichita State will also be in action at the event.
The tournament is open to the public. Play will begin at 7:45 a.m. Monday and 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The Knights began their spring campaign last weekend, posting a third-place finish at the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville. Junior Simon Ward (County Monaghan, Ireland) tied for first at the 14-team tournament. Ward posted a 205 (-5) and earned Conference USA Golfer of the Week honors for his performance.
Ward will be one of six Knights in action at Rio Pinar. He will be joined in the lineup by senior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla.), junior Nico Donaldson (Windermere, Fla.), redshirt freshman Brad Schneider (Valrico, Fla.) and freshman Blayne Barber (Lake City, Fla.). Head coach Nick Clinard will also have one of his golfers compete as an individual at the tournament.
UCF claimed the Rio Pinar Invitational in 2008, finishing at 846 (-18), 12 strokes ahead of runner-up Wichita State. Then junior Greg Forest (Palm City, Fla.) and then sophomore Mike Stern shared medalist honors. Forest and Stern both completed the event at 205 (-11).
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