Friday, July 11, 2008

Rice Releases 2008-09 Golf Schedule

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 11, 2008) A season-opening tournament at The Olympic Club in suburban San Francisco, a return to the River Landing Intercollegiate in North Carolina and the 9th Rice Intercollegiate presented by Srixon highlight the 2008-09 Rice University golf schedule announced Thursday.

“I am very excited about the 2008-09 schedule,” said Rice golf coach Drew Scott. “We have definitely stepped up the overall competitive level for the team, a team that will be hungry to make post-season play. We have six returning players who have a combined 90 events of experience, and along with four new faces, we should be a solid squad.”

The Owls will open the fall campaign Sept. 8-9 when they travel to the Olympic Club Collegiate Invitational. The Olympic Club, the nation’s oldest athletic club, has served as host to four U.S. Opens and will play host to the event again in 2012. The club also played host to last year’s U.S. Amateur.

Rice will also travel to tournaments hosted by Kansas, Memphis and Pacific during the fall. Rounding out the fall tournament schedule will be The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. Stanford and UC Davis will co-host the event.

“During the fall, the strongest tournaments will be the three in California,” Scott said. “We will face many Pac 10 foes as well as regionally-strong teams.”

The spring season will get underway Feb. 16-17, 2009, with the 9th Rice Intercollegiate presented by Srixon played at Westwood Golf Club. The Owls will stay close to home the following week when they travel to the All-American Golf Classic. The University of Houston spring tournament will be played on The Tradition Course at Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring.

Stops at the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, La., the Border Olympics in Laredo and the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga. are also slated for the 2009 spring season. The Owls’ final tune-up prior to the Conference USA Championship will be a return to the River Landing Intercollegiate hosted by North Carolina State University in Wallace, N.C.

“The spring schedule will pit us against an SEC-laden Linger Longer Invitational field and at the River Landing Intercollegiate, we will face many of the top ACC teams. The competition during the year will prepare us for the Conference USA Championship.”

After the past two years being played at the Texarkana Country Club, the Conference USA Championship moves to Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla. The league championship is April 19-21.

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