University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Ready for American Champs
4/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
| AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS | |
|---|---|
| Live Scoring | Golfstat |
| Lineup | Michael Perras Papito Gonzalez Matt Williams Zach Tracy Matt Scobie |
| Time | Sunday, April 23 • 18 holes 7 a.m. (CDT) start
Tuesday, April 25 • 18 holes |
| Location | Copperhead Course â€" Innisbrook Golf Club Palm Harbor, Fla. 7,209 yards • Par 71 |
| Season Stats | Statistics |
| Social Media |    |
PALM HARBOR, Fla. â€" The University of Houston Men's Golf program takes its first step in the postseason when it tees off at the American Athletic Conference Championships, beginning Sunday morning at Innisbrook Golf Club.
The Cougars will join eight other teams on the 7,209-yard, par-71 Copperhead Course with 18 holes each day through Tuesday.
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring from The American Championships by visiting Golfstat.com and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.
TEAM FIELD
The tournament features nine teams, including No. 46 UCF, USF, SMU, Cincinnati, East Carolina, UConn, Memphis and Temple.
The winner of the 2017 American Championships receives the league's automatic bid to NCAA Regional play, scheduled to be held May 15-17 at one of six locations across the country.
LINEUP
Michael Perras â€" Leads Cougars with 71.65 average, seven rounds in the 60s and 17 rounds of par or better… Has posted top-20 finishes in eight of his last nine tournaments… Making his second appearance at The American Championships… Tied for ninth at 2016 Championships with score of 216… Tied for seventh at 3M Augusta Invitational with score of 7-under 209 (April 1-2)… Tied for fourth with score of 6-under 138 in rain shortened Border Olympics at Laredo Country Club (March 10-11.)… Tied for seventh at 4-under 212 to lead the Cougars at the All-American Intercollegiate presented by Coca-Cola at Golf Club of Houston (Feb. 17-19)… Was the 2016 NCAA Franklin Regional individual champion at 16-under 200 at Vanderbilt Legends Club… Native of Deer Park, Texas, and product of Deer Park High School.
Papito Gonzalez â€" Tied for second among Cougars with 72.00 average bur ranks second with 16 rounds of par or better… Making his second appearance at The American Championships… Tied for 14th with score of 218 at 2016 Championships… Tied for eighth at Bayou City Collegiate Classic at 1-under 215… Opened that tournament with consecutive sub-par rounds… Opened Maui Jim Intercollegiate with career-low 67 and followed with 70… Led Cougars and tied for 13th at 5-under 208 on Sept. 23-25… Native of McAllen, Texas, and product of Memorial High School.
Matt Williams â€" Tied for second among Cougars with 72.00¬¬ average… 11 rounds of par or better… Making his debut at The American Championships… Opened The Hootie at Bulls Bay with a 70 and tied for 38th at that tournament with a score of 218… Tied for eighth at the rain-shortened Border Olympics with score of 4-under 140 at Laredo Country Club (March 10-11)… Opened that tournament with a 69… Posted a career-low-tying 68 in the Second Round of the Maui Jim Intercollegiate (Sept. 24, 2016).
Zach Tracy â€" Fourth on team with 72.61 average but stands third with 14 rounds of par or better… Making his debut at The American Championships… Tied for sixth with score of 145 to lead Houston at the UT Longhorn Shootout… Tied for 11th at the Border Olympics with score of 3-under 141 (March 10-11)… Fired three straight sub-par rounds to tie for third at 4-under 212 at the Colin Montgomerie Invitational at Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring (Feb. 27-28)… Made his collegiate debut a memorable one… Posted three straight rounds of par or better at Bayou City Collegiate Classic to lead Cougars and tie for fifth at 2-under 214 at Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland, Texas... Sat out as a redshirt with the Cougars in 2015-16… Native of Houston and product of Seven Lakes High School.
Matt Scobie â€" Three-year letterman… 73.96 average with seven rounds of par or better this season… Making his second appearance at The American Championships… Finished 33rd with score of 224 at 2015 Championships… Posted back-to-back 72s to close out The Hootie at Bulls Bay and led the Cougars while tying for 30th at 217… Tied for 19th at the All-American Intercollegiate presented by Coca-Cola with score of 1-under 215. … Native of Ajax, Ontario, Canada and product of Ajax High School.
FIRST-ROUND PAIRINGS
Sunday's First Round tees off with a 7 a.m. (CDT) start. The Cougars will compete in groups with Nov. 46 UCF and USF beginning at 7:50 a.m. (CDT) Sunday off No. 1
Scobie begins at 7:50 a.m. (CDT) Sunday with Tracy (8 a.m. CDT), Williams (8:10 a.m. CDT), Gonzalez (8:20 a.m. CDT) and Perras (8:30 a.m. CDT) following.
LAST TIME OUT
The Cougars posted a team score of 740 to finish third at the UT Longhorn Shootout on April 15 in an addition to the spring schedule.
Tracy finished with a score of 145 to tie for sixth, while Scobie posted a total of 147 to finish ninth for a season-best finish.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
The Cougars have enjoyed tremendous success in conference championships with 20 team titles and 20 individual crowns during the program's history.
Houston swept the 2013 Conference USA Championships with a team score of 857 and saw Roman Robledo earn medalist honors with a score of 8-under 208.
The Cougars have finished among the top-four leaders in each of the three previous American Championships appearances, including a third-place showing in 2016. Perras and Vincent Martino posted scores of even-par 216 to tie for ninth on the Quarry Course at Black Diamond Ranch a year ago.
UP NEXT
With the completion of The American Championships, the Cougars will learn their NCAA postseason fate. The NCAA Selection Show will air at 11 a.m., Thursday, May 4, on Golf Channel.
The Cougars look to be sent to one of these six NCAA Regional sites: University Club (Baton Rouge, La.); The Grove (Murfreesboro, Tenn.); Kampen Course (West Lafayette, Ind.); Stanford Golf Course (Stanford, Calif.); UT Golf Club (Austin, Texas) or Washington National Golf Club (Auburn, Wash.).
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at HoustonCougarGolf. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarmgolf.
Players Mentioned
