University of Houston Athletics
Men's Golf Tees Off at NCAA Lubbock Regional
5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
| NCAA LUBBOCK REGIONAL | |
|---|---|
| Information | Championship Central |
| Live Scoring | Golfstat |
| Houston Lineup | Roman Robledo Blair Hamilton Kyle Pilgrim Alan De Bondt Vincent Martino |
| Time | Thursday, May 14 18 holes • 8 a.m. split tee start Martino - 8:20 a.m. De Bondt - 8:31 a.m. Pilgrim - 8:42 a.m. Hamilton - 8:53 a.m. Robledo - 9:04 a.m. Friday, May 15 Saturday, May 16 |
| Location | The Rawls Course at Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas 7,349 yards • Par 71 |
| Team Field | #36 (6) Houston, #2 (1) Texas, #9 (2) Texas Tech, #13 (3) Auburn, #23 (4) North Florida, #26 (5) California, #38 (7) Louisville, #48 (8) Duke, (9) Southeastern Louisiana, (10) Purdue (11) Georgia State, (12) UC Irvine and (13) Charleston Southern # - National Ranking () - Regional Seeding |
| Season Stats | Season Statistics |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON - For the fourth consecutive season, the University of Houston Men's Golf program will compete in the NCAA postseason when it tees off Thursday morning at the NCAA Lubbock Regional on The Rawls Course at Texas Tech.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament will consist of 18 holes each day through Saturday afternoon with Houston competing as the No. 6 seed in the 13-team field. The tournament features eight of the nation's top-50 programs, including second-ranked Texas, 9th-ranked Texas Tech, 13th-ranked Auburn, 23rd-ranked North Florida, 26th-ranked California, 38th-ranked Louisville and 48th-ranked Duke.
In addition to Houston, the field includes No. 9 seed Southeastern Louisiana, No. 10 seed Purdue, No. 11 seed Georgia State, No. 12 seed UC Irvine and No. 13 seed Charleston Southern.
The low five teams and low individual not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championships, slated for May 29-June 3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke recently announced that seniors Roman Robledo and Kyle Pilgrim, juniors Vincent Martino and Blair Hamilton and freshman Alan De Bondt will represent the Cougars at the NCAA Lubbock Regional. It will be the first time this season that the Cougars have used this group of starters.
Prior to the start of the First Round, the Cougars will take part in a practice round at The Rawls Course on Wednesday morning.
FIRST ROUND on THURSDAY
Teeing off No. 10, the Cougars will compete in threesomes with student-athletes from No. 23 North Florida and No. 26 California during Thursday's First Round.
Martino will start the day at 8:20 a.m., with De Bondt (8:31 a.m.), Pilgrim (8:42 a.m.), Hamilton (8:53 a.m.) and Robledo (9:04 a.m.) following.
Fans can follow live scoring at the NCAA Lubbock Regional by visiting Golfstat.com and following the appropriate links or by clicking here. For more information about the NCAA Lubbock Regional, fans can visit Championship Central by clicking here.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
The Cougars enter the NCAA postseason at No. 36 in the latest Golfstat national rankings. Under Dismuke's leadership, the Cougars have earned eight top-5 finishes in 11 team-scoring tournaments this season, including the team championship at the Miramont Invitational on Oct. 13-14, 2014.
This season, Robledo leads the Cougars the a 72.26 scoring average and 20 rounds of par or better, including eight in the 60s. The Harlingen, Texas, native has tallied five top-10 showings this season and ranks among the Cougars' top-10 career leaders in tournaments titles (5), strokes (10,498), rounds played (145) and stroke average (72.40).
Hamilton is a close second on the team with a 72.28 average and 14 rounds of par or better. The Burlington, Ontario, Canada, native has posted a pair of top-5 finishes this season and earned the first individual title of his career with a score of 9-under-par 207 at the Border Olympics on March 13-14.
As he wraps up his Houston career, Pilgrim has saved his best play of the season for the end. The Colleyville, Texas, native has posted three straight top-13 finishes in his last three tournaments, including an eighth-place showing at the American Athletic Conference Championships.
Martino has competed in nine tournaments this season. The Southlake, Texas, native has earned a pair of top-10 finishes, including a career-best second-place showing at the season-opening Northern Intercollegiate on Sept. 5-7, 204.
De Bondt will compete in his seventh tournament during the 2014-15 season. The Antwerp, Belgium, native has enjoyed three top-20 finishes this season, including a tie for 16th at the Cougars' own Bayou City Collegiate Championships on Feb. 20-22.
The Cougars enter the NCAA postseason on the heels of a fourth-place finish at the American Athletic Conference Championships on April 26-27 on The Quarry Course at Black Diamond Ranch in LeCanto, Fla. In addition to Pilgrim, Robledo finished in a tie for 10th at 2-under-par 214 for his fourth straight top-10 finish at a conference Championships event.
NCAA REGIONAL HISTORY
This marks the fourth straight season in which the Cougars will compete in an NCAA Regional. It is the first time since 1999-02 that the Cougars accomplished that feat.
Entering this week, the Cougars' lineup has a combined six individual appearances in NCAA Regional play. Robledo leads the way with three NCAA Regional berths with Pilgrim (2) and Martino (1). This week will be the first time that De Bondt and Hamilton will compete in an NCAA Regional.
Robledo is poised to become only the fifth player in program history to compete in four NCAA Regionals during his career, joining Anders Hansen, B.J. Staten, Andy Sanders and Dean Larsson. Pilgrim will become just the 14th player with at least three NCAA Regional berths on his resume.
This also will be the 18th NCAA Regional team appearance in the rich history of the Houston Men's Golf program. The Cougars can boast of one team championship (1998), two individual crowns (Brett Callas, 2003; Larsson, 1994) and seven top-5 team finishes.
A year ago, Houston competed as the No. 2 seed at the NCAA Eugene Regional and finished fourth at that event to earn the program's first berth to the NCAA Championships since 2001. At the NCAA Eugene Regional, Robledo and Curtis Reed tied for eighth at the Eugene Country Club with scores of 215.
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
