Monday, April 20, 2009

Rice in Eighth at C-USA Championship

SORRENTO, FLORIDA (April 20, 2009) Rice University moved up a spot to eighth place and is within reach of a Top 6 finish following the second round of the Conference USA Championship being played at RedTail Golf Club (par 72, 7152 yards).

On Monday, rain showers delayed the finish of the second round just as the final groups headed toward the clubhouse. Played resumed later in the afternoon and tournament host UCF held onto the lead for the second straight day.

Rice shot a 300 as a team Monday and has a two-round score of 592 (+16). Just ahead of the Owls in sixth place is Tulsa (+13) while Houston is in seventh (+14) heading into Tuesday’s final round.

UCF’s Simon Ward had an eagle on the par-5 seventh and birdied three other holes en route to a four-under 68 and is part of a three-way tie atop the leaderboard following the championship’s second round. UCF’s Blayne Barber and UAB’s Zach Sucher both carded 69s on Monday and find themselves tied with Ward for first place after 36 holes.

Ward and Barber helped UCF stay out in front in the team standings after 36 holes. The Knights are currently 11-under par for the tournament, four strokes in front of SMU and eight strokes ahead of third-place UAB.

Rice sophomore Michael Whitehead remains in the Top 10 individually after two rounds. Whitehead was two-over par for his Monday round and is currently tied for ninth at 143 (-1). He is six strokes off the lead.

Rice teammate Christopher Brown also had a two-over par round Monday and is currently tied for 17th with a 145 (+1), two-round score.

Rice will once again tee off from No. 10 on Tuesday beginning at 9:15 a.m. The Owls will be paired with Houston and Southern Miss for the final round.

No comments: