ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's golf team has set its lineup and is making its final preparations for the American Athletic Conference Championship tournament, slated for Sunday, April, 22 through Tuesday, April, 24 at the Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Fla.
Head coach Bryce Wallor has named Bobby Bai, Donnie Trosper, Juuso Kahlos, Manuel Elvira, and Kyler Tate to represent the Knights.
Bai, a sophomore from Shantou, China, is exempt and will play in the first spot in the lineup by virtue of his first-place finish at the Boilermaker Invitational, while Trosper will compete in the second spot after his top 20 finish at the Boilermaker Invitational.
Seniors Kahlos and Elvira will play in the third and fourth spot respectively after Kahlos concluded the Boilermaker Invitational tied for 55th and Elvira finished tied for 61st. Tate will play in the fifth and final spot for the Knights after finishing tied for 75th at the Boilermaker Invitational. Kahlos, Elvira, and Tate are all coaches selections.
Season Notes
- Bobby's Boomin'
Bobby Bai was crowned champion at the 15th annual Boilermaker Invitational and was named The American Conference Player of the Week on April 18. Bai finished with a 139 for 36 holes shooting 70 (-2) for the first 18 and a 69 (-3) for the second round. Bai converted four birdies in the first 18 holes and followed up the second round of 18 with eight birdies in total and an eagle on the seventh hole. The Shantou, China native also led the pack in averages strokes for par fives with a 4.25 average. For the two rounds, he shot six under on par five holes. - Fantastic Fall
In the fall, the Knights were crowned champions for two of their five competitions. The first came at the Hartford Hawks Invitational in Couth Kent Connecticut. As a team, the Knights carded a three-round score of 836 to finish the tournament at 28-under par. The next closest competition was Seton Hall, which took second place 25 strokes back at -3. - Kudos For Kahlos And Kyler
Juuso Kahlos finished as the top individual at the Hartford Hawks Invitational, while teammate Kyler Tate rounded out the tournament in second. Kahlos was tied for second heading into the final round. After scoring a red-hot 66 in the first round, he came back at even par 72 in the second round. A third-round total of 69 pushed him to 9-under for the tournament, which gave him medalist honors by two strokes in front of teammate Kyler Tate. In the lead after two rounds, Tate turned in a 1-over 73 over the final 18 holes to come in at 7-under with runner-up honors. - 12 In The Top 10
UCF has had 12 top 10 individual finishes this year, including fall competitions. Of those 12, seven have been in the top five and two have finished in first.
| Player | Class | Tourn. Played | Rounds Played | Scoring Average | Par/better | Low Round | Best Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Bai | So. | 9 | 25 | 73.3 | 11 | 63 | 1st |
| Donnie Trosper | Jr. | 10 | 28 | 73.3 | 13 | 65 | T-4th |
| Juuso Kahlos | Sr. | 9 | 24 | 73.1 | 11 | 66 | 1st |
| Manuel Elvira | Sr. | 10 | 28 | 74.6 | 7 | 68 | T-5th |
| Kyler Tate | Jr. | 10 | 28 | 72.5 | 14 | 61 | 2 |
UCF starts the 2018 Championships ranked third and will tee off at 8:13 a.m with fourth ranked, ECU. USF and Houston tee off shortly after ranked one and two respectively with SMU ranked five and Cincinnati six. (7) Memphis and (8) UConn will tee off on No. 10, while (9) Wichita State and (10) Temple round out the field and tee off at 7:34 a.m.
The American Championship will take place on the Par 71, 7125-yard Copperhead Course, beginning at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. Eighteen holes will be played Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Admission to the event is free and open to the public.
The American Digital Network will have live coverage of the 18th hole on Tuesday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The ADN will also cover the awards ceremony with player and coach interviews.