April 10, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The 15th-ranked UCF men's golf team will defend its title at the UK Bluegrass Invitational when the event begins Saturday in Lexington, Ky. Teams at the event will play 36 holes Saturday and one round Sunday at the Big Blue Golf Course.
In 2008, four Knights recorded top-10 finishes as UCF claimed the championship in Kentucky. UCF finished the tournament, which was played in chilly conditions, 16 shots ahead of Missouri and Murray State, who tied for second.
Fifteen squads are scheduled to compete this weekend, including host Kentucky, Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton, Jacksonville, Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Western Kentucky.
This past Sunday, the Knights tied for fourth at the 17-team ASU Adminstaff Invitational in Augusta, Ga. Freshman Blayne Barber (Lake City, Fla.) tied for third on the individual side. UCF finished ahead of three of the top-50 ranked squads in the country, most notably No. 12 Tennessee.
Joining Barber in Kentucky this weekend for the Knights will be senior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla.), junior Simon Ward (County Monaghan, Ireland), sophomore Jed Dirksen (Hampton, Iowa) and redshirt freshman Brad Schneider (Valrico, Fla.). Junior Nico Donaldson (Windermere, Fla.) will be competing as an individual.
At the tournament last year, Johnson tied for sixth on the individual side.
After the UK Bluegrass Invitational, the Knights will return home to host the Conference USA Championship. The three-day event at the RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento begins April 19.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.