Fourth-place finish helps golf continue momentum

By Paul Fitzgerald     10/8/09 7:00pm

The golf team continued its impressive play to start the 2009 season, recording a fourth-place finish at the Squire Creek Invitational this past Monday and Tuesday following the team's first tournament victory since 1997 at the UTA Waterchase Invitational two weeks ago. While the team posted a first-round score that fell below their expectations, the Owls bounced back with back-to-back rounds of even or under par. With Squire Creek behind them, the team now focuses their attention on the Lone Star Shootout, held October 18-19. The event, hosted by UT-San Antonio, will contain 12 of Texas' strongest teams, and will present the strongest field Rice has faced thus far this year. The tournament, which takes place at Briggs Ranch Golf Course, will give Rice a great opportunity to defeat some highly-ranked schools.

Head Coach Drew Scott (Wiess '98) recognizes the importance of maintaining focus and composure, and believes the team's will to win will help them succeed.

"These guys are hungry to win and hungry for postseason play," Scott said. "That means that we need to string together consistent tournaments throughout the year, and we can't lose to teams that we should beat."

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Rice opened the tournament by shooting a round of eight over-par, their worst tally of the year thus far. The Owls' score left them in eighth place, nine shots back of multiple schools.

But the second round was an entirely different story, as Rice finished with a score of three-under par.

Senior Michael Buttacavoli carded the low score for Rice, shooting two-under. Buttacavoli finished in a tie for ninth individually, his second top-10 finish of the year following his offseason knee surgery.

The Owls maintained their momentum in the third round, shooting a round of even-par. Freshman Jade Scott, no relation to Drew Scott, shot two-under par for the round to lead Rice to its fourth-place finish. His performance also put him in a tie for ninth with Buttacavoli and was the second straight top-10 finish of his collegiate career.

Drew Scott was impressed at the ease with which the freshman has adapted to the college game, and sees great things in the future for the native Texan.

"He had a very successful junior career, and the transition from junior golf to college golf has been smooth," Coach Scott said. "He has a good skillset, and we want to see him play well and win some tournament down the road, hopefully in the near future."

The Squire Creek Invitational was won by the University of New Orleans, which shot 854 over the three rounds to defeat second-place Southeastern Louisiana by nine strokes. Southeastern Louisiana's Cedric Scotto won the individual title by a shot with a three-day score of 210 (six-under par).

With a record of 27-3 after Squire Creek, Rice moved up to 44th in the national rankings, but senior Christopher Brown believes the Owls are ready for bigger things in the upcoming Lone Star Shootout.

"We've beaten everybody we should have this year, but we haven't beaten anybody we shouldn't have," Brown said. "With fifth-ranked University of Texas, 13th-ranked Southern Methodist University, and 17th-ranked Texas A&M University in the Lone Star Shootout, we've got our work cut out for us, but I feel confident in our team.

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