University of Houston Athletics
Men's Golf Plays Host to Valspar Collegiate Invitational
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
| VALSPAR COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL | |
|---|---|
| Houston Lineup | Roman Robledo Blair Hamilton Matt Scobie Kyle Pilgrim Michael Perras Vincent Martino (Ind.) |
| Live Scoring | Golfstat |
| Time | Monday, March 23 36 holes • 8 a.m. (CDT) shotgun start Morning • Afternoon Tuesday, March 24 |
| Location | Floridian National Golf Club Palm City, Fla. 7,114 yards • Par 72 |
| Team Field | #33 Houston, #1 Illinois, #2 Florida State, #5 Georgia Tech, #7 South Carolina, #10 UCLA, #14 LSU, #18 USF, #19 Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Memphis and Kent State |
| Season Stats | Season Statistics |
| Social Media |   |
PALM CITY, Fla. - The University of Houston Men's Golf program returns to action Monday morning when it tees off at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational at Floridian Golf Club.
The 54-hole tournament will be played over two days with 36 holes starting at 8 a.m. (CDT) Monday and the final 18 holes beginning at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) Tuesday on the 7,114-yard, par-72 course. Fans can follow live scoring by visiting Golfstat.com and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.
The Cougars will play host to one of the nation's top fields. Nine of the country's top-50 programs will compete at this tournament with five of the top 10, including No. 1 Illinois and No. 2 Florida State. Other teams scheduled to participate are No. 5 Georgia Tech, No. 7 South Carolina, No. 10 UCLA, No. 14 LSU, No. 18 USF, No. 19 Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Memphis and Kent State.
Houston enters the Valspar Collegiate Invitational on the heels of a second-place team finish at the Border Olympics at Laredo Country Club on March 13-14. At that event, the seven-man Cougar lineup combined to record 11 sub-par rounds, including a total of six from junior Blair Hamilton and senior All-American Roman Robledo.
Hamilton opened the Border Olympics with 67-69 on the way to a career-best, 9-under-par 207 and the first individual title of his collegiate career. For his impressive efforts, he recently was named the American Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week.
Robledo went 68-69 in the final two rounds to close out that tournament and was joined in a tie for second place with sophomore Matt Scobie.
This marks the second straight season that the Cougars will compete at this prestigious event. A year ago, Houston tied for seventh as Georgia Tech earned the team championship at 15-under-par 837 and Yellow Jacket Ollie Schniederjans captured medalist honors with a score of 12-under-par 201.
HOUSTON'S LINEUP
Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke and associate head coach Ryke Dismuke (no relation) recently announced Robledo, Hamilton, Scobie, senior Kyle Pilgrim and freshman Michael Perras would make up the Cougars' starting lineup. Junior Vincent Martino and freshman Alan De Bondt will compete as individuals.
Robledo has been a leader for the Cougars throughout his career. The Harlingen, Texas, native has posted six sub-par scores in his last seven rounds and leads Houston with a 72.74 scoring average and 11 sub-par rounds, including six in the 60s.
His recent second-place finish at the Border Olympics was his second top-5 showing of the season and the 13th of his career.
Hamilton stands second among the Cougars with a 72.85 average and eight sub-par rounds this season. The Burlington, Ontario, Canada, native has competed in all seven team-scoring tournaments in 2014-15 and enjoyed five top-20 finishes.
Scobie etched his name in the Houston records book with his early play at the Border Olympics last week. The Ajax, Ontario, Canada, native opened that tournament with a career-low 64, thanks to nine birdies and only one bogey. He became just the seventh player in school history to shoot 64 or low in any round and joined Ed Fiori as the only Cougars to accomplish the feat in the first round of a tournament.
Scobie went on to post a score of 8-under-par 208 and tied with Robledo for second place at the Border Olympics.
Pilgrim finished 16th at the Border Olympics, thanks to sub-par totals in each of the first two rounds, on the way to third top-20 showing of the season.
Perras has been a steady performer for the Cougars during his first collegiate season. The Deer Park, Texas, native has competed in all seven team-scoring tournaments to date this season and has enjoyed five sub-par rounds in 2014-15.
Martino has competed in six tournaments this season and enjoyed a career-best, second-place finish at the season-opening Northern Intercollegiate. De Bondt will make his fourth appearance in a team-scoring tournament this season.
UP NEXT
Following the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, the Cougars compete at the 3M Augusta Invitational, hosted by GRU Augusta on April 4-5 at Forest Hills Golf Club.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive the latest Men's Golf news and notes by following @UHCougarGolf on Twitter. Fans also can discuss the latest Houston Golf news and notes on the team's Facebook page at HoustonCougarGolf.
Players Mentioned
