MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's golf team will compete at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational at Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club's Cypress Links course Oct. 20-22 in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

USA junior Siti Shaari has earned a top-five finish in each of the Jaguars' two tournaments this fall. She was named the Sun Belt Conference Women's Golfer of the Week on Oct. 3 after firing a 7-under par total of 209 in three rounds at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at Red Sky Golf Club in Vail, Colo., which included a 6-under par 66 in round two that tied for the lowest round in program history.

The Jags finished 12th out of a field of 18 teams at the Golfweek Conference Challenge after coming in 13th place out of 16 teams at the USA Intercollegiate to open the fall season. USA carries a 299.33 team stroke average into the Pat Bradley Invitational, with an individual stroke average of 74.79. 

Shaari leads the team in stroke average (70.50) through two events, which encompasses six rounds, followed by Julie Hovland (75.00), Caroline Berge (76.83), Belinda May (77.17), Carlota Garcia (79.67) and Nele Mattner (79.00).

The USA lineup at the Pat Bradley Invitational will feature Shaari, Hovland, Berge, May and Mattner. This year marks the first time the Jags have competed in the Pat Bradley Invitational, hosted by FIU, since 2010 when they finished ninth out of a field of 15 teams.

Live scoring for the Pat Bradley Invitational will be available through BirdieFire.com, and can also be accessed through the Jaguar women's golf schedule page at USAJaguars.com.

Quotes
Head Coach Matt Luther
On the team's progression this fall:
"We're learning; we have two freshmen, one or both of which have been in the lineup all year. As they're figuring it out, we're definitely going to make improvements as a team. We are absolutely playing better, and our goal is to win in the spring. The fall is about learning, and we have done a lot of that. We definitely played better in our second tournament of the year versus the first, so that is our ethos – just keep getting better. We're definitely playing better tournaments with stronger fields and new golf courses, and there is a learning curve there. The bar has been raised for us, and we need to run up and meet it."

On improvements he is looking for in this tournament:
"We harp on details – being really good at the simple stuff. Make bogey instead of double (bogey), not three-putting from places you shouldn't three-putt from, and that kind of stuff. We make plenty of birdies, so it's more about kind of cleaning up the simple stuff. You don't have to get everything up and down, but you got to get the easy ones up and down."

On ending the fall at the Pat Bradley Invitational:
"It is a good golf course with good weather and a big field that should give us a good barometer of where we are at. If we play well we should win, if we don't then there will be a bunch of teams that can beat us. It is a great tournament for us just to see what we've done in the fall. We hit the ground running at home early in the fall, we're playing freshmen and everybody is kind of getting back. Vail (Colo.) was like going and playing on the moon for us, which I thought we did well out there. The (Sun Belt) conference championship is in Florida with similar playing conditions and golf course, so this tournament will be a good look at what we've done this fall and give us a good look of what we need to do going into the spring." 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Chip In Club, the women's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Chip In Club go directly to support the South Alabama women's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/chipinclub.