Golf Set to Compete at Hall of Fame Invitational
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 17, 2005
HOUSTON - The University of Houston golf team continues a busy month of March when it opens first-round play Friday at the Hall of Fame Invitational at Redstone Golf Club.
This weekend's tournament will be the third of five tournaments for the Cougars in the month of March.
The 54-hole tournament will be played through Sunday with 18 holes starting at 7:30 a.m. each day. The Cougars some of the nation's top collegiate teams on the 7,508-yard, par-72 course, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Gustavus Adolphus, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, South Carolina-Aiken, TCU, Texas A&M, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and host Texas.
The Cougars come into the three-day, 54-hole tournament on a wave of momentum after tying for first at the Palmetto Invitational. The team rallied in the final round to post a season-best team score of 288 and win its second team championship of the 2004-5 season.
The Cougars tied with host USC-Aiken for top honors and squared off in two playoff holes, but the tie was unable to be broken before UH had to leave due to their travel plans.
At that tournament, freshman Jordan Irwin captured the first collegiate individual championship of his career by finishing at 1-under-par 212. He was the only golfer to finish under par and was one of three Cougars who finished among the Top 11 leaders.
Sophomore Ricky Romano, a member of the 2004 Conference USA All-Freshmen Team, finished third at 3-over-par 216, while sophomore Pablo Acuna placed 11th at 7-over-par 220.
Romano leads the Cougars with a 72.9 scoring average, more than a stroke better than his closest competitor on the team.
This marks the second consecutive year that the Cougars will compete at the Hall of Fame Invitational. Last season, UH finished 16th with Zach Mowbray leading the way after shooting a 6-over-par 218.
