The Loop
This Week's Syllabus — 3/13
FEATURED COLLEGE TOURNAMENTS for the week of March 13
__Men
Hall of Fame Invitational (Click for Live Scoring from Golfstat)
Redstone GC
Humble, Texas
March 17-19__
Players participating in the third annual event run by the Golf Coaches' Association of America are treated to playing the same course that will be used a month later for the PGA Tour’s Shell Houston Open. Yet it’s not the difficulty of the course that will concern most of the schools competing in the event but rather fatigue. Thirteen of the 17-team field have played in the last week.
Defending champion of the event is Oklahoma State, who held off UNLV by two shots in 2005. UNLV senior Ryan Moore claimed medalist honors with a 10-under 206, one better than OSU’s Tyler Leon.
One other unique feature of the event: the GCAA invites the Division II (USC-Aiken) and Division III (Guilford College) champions to participate.
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FIELD:__ Arizona, Arkansas, No. 15 Clemson, No. 7 Duke, No. 14 East Tennessee State, No. 1 Georgia, Guilford College, New Mexico, Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State, Purdue, USC-Aiken, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, No. 12 Wake Forest
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__Women
Betsy Rawls Invitational____(Click for Live Scoring from Golfstat)__
Austin, Texas
March 17-19__
If ever a team needed a little home cooking, it’s the Texas women’s squad. The Longhorns started their spring season last week with a disappointing 11th-place showing of 11 teams at the Cal-Guadalajara Invitational, a feat made only worse by the fact that it was the highest finish UT has posted in the 2005-06 season. Indeed, it’s been 10 months since a Susan Watkins’ squad has had a top-five finish. There is no harder worker than Watkins, in her 12th season at her alma mater, and no one who expects more of her players. She can only hope being at home will help kick-start her squad.
Given Texas track record in the event, maybe Watkins’ hopes will be fulfilled. The Longhorns have won the event six times in its 32-year history, most recently in 1999. A year ago it was Duke that came out on top with a one-stroke victory over Oklahoma State. Arkansas’ Stacy Lewis took medalist honors.
Suffice it to say, the list of defending champions reads like a who’s who of women’s college golf. Among them are Nancy Lopez (Tulsa, 1976); Beth Daniel (Furman, 1977); Val Skinner (Oklahoma State, 1982); Jody Rosenthal (Tulsa, 1984); Annika Sorenstam (Arizona, 1992).
FIELD: No. 25 Baylor, No. 1 Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, No. 21 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Purdue, SMU, TCU, Texas, No. 19 Texas A&M, Tulsa