MOBILE, Ala. ? Less than two weeks removed from recording a 10th-place finish at the Rio Pinar Invitational, the University of South Alabama’s men’s golf team will return to the Sunshine State to try and build on that performance.
The Jaguars, along with 23 other teams, will start play at the 17th annual Ron Smith/USF Invitational Friday at 6:45 a.m. (CST), with tee times the next two days scheduled at 7 a.m. The event will take place at the Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club, a par-72, 7,153-yard course in Dade City.
USA is one of nine teams among the top 100 in the most recent Golfweek/Sagarin rankings scheduled to participate in the tournament, entering play 96th after defeating four higher-rated schools last time out when it posted an 883 total. Marc-Etienne Bussieres, who paces the Jags with a 71.71 stroke average this year, finished with an even-par 216 score to tie for ninth place in the field of 107 competitors, while Daniel Burns tied for 27th on the strength of a 2-under-par 70 in the second round.
Jack Hiluta lowered his total in each round at the Rio Pinar Invitational, which included firing a team-best 1-under-par 71 over the final 18 holes. Cody Klein chipped in with a 72 in the second round, and David Leathem recorded a 75 on the last day as well.
“I would like to see some more consistency. We let some things get away from us, particularly in the first round ? you could tell we were a little rusty in certain areas,” USA head coach Ben Hannan said. “Jack’s final-round 71 under those conditions was a very good score, we need to get him doing that on a more consistent basis. The more he and Cody play, the better they are going to be.
“As we move forward, we need to continue to get things out of each player.”
Ninth-ranked Texas Tech is the highest-rated team in the field, with Baylor next at No. 31 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings and Louisville entering play 39th. Eastern Michigan (70th) and Marquette (72nd) are among the top 75 schools in the nation, with Missouri ranked 77th, fellow Sun Belt Conference member Middle Tennessee 87th and Austin Peay 92nd as well.
In addition to host South Florida, the field also includes Sun Belt opponents Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe and Troy. Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul and Seton Hall bring the total to seven schools from the Big East Conference in the event, and Nebraska is the fourth Big 12 foe in the field. Columbus State, Florida Southern, Jacksonville State, Missouri State, Rhode Island and Xavier are also schedule to compete.
“This field is not quite as deep as the last tournament, but it is possibly more top heavy with Texas Tech a top-10 team,” stated Hannan. “If we can be more consistent, we can play with these schools. Our 287 in the middle round of the last event was the second-lowest score of the day out of 21 teams, so there is no doubt we have the talent to do so. We just need to become a little more even-keeled, and if we do that we’ll have an opportunity to compete.”
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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