The Loop

This week's syllabus: Oct. 3-9

October 03, 2008

__THE FAB FIVE

My look at the top five teams in the country right now

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The Cowboys locked down three of the top four spots on the individual leader board en route to their 16-stroke victory at the Ping/Golfweek Preview. OSU's depth is pretty impressive considering the guys they left behind in Stillwater when they traveled to Inverness.

Next event: Isleworth-UCF Invitational, Isleworth CC, Windermere, Fla., Oct. 26-28

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Finished fourth at the Ping/Golfweek Preview in their season-opener. Good news: But for two bad holes during the second round, Jamie Lovemark looked sharper than he did to end the summer.

Next event: Isleworth-UCF Invitational, Isleworth CC, Windemere, Fla., Oct. 26-28

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After two impressive victories to start the season, the Mocs come out a bit flat at the Preview, finishing 50 strokes back in 11th place. Expecting another win might have been asking a little much, but you figured the momentum they had built might have produced a better result.

Next event: Brickyard Collegiate, The Brickyard at Riverside, Macon, Ga., Oct. 11-13

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A second-place finish at the Carpet Capital is followed up with a second at the Preview. Robin Wingardh shares medalist honors at Inverness Club, suggesting that the lose of graduating seniors Charles Ford and Philip Pettitt might not be as tough to overcome in Knoxville.

Next event: Wolf Pack Classic, Wolf Run GC, Reno, Nev., Oct. 6-7

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After third-place finish at the Carpet Capital, the Gamecocks take care of business with their eight-stroke victory at the Mason Rudolph Men's Championship. South Carolina was the best team in the field at Vanderbilt's Legends Club and played that way.

Next event: Isleworth-UCF Invitational, Isleworth CC, Windemere, Fla., Oct. 26-28

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WOMEN

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The Bruins defend their Mason Rudolph Women's Championship title, beating arguably the strongest field of any event that will be played this fall, and with all the top teams having all their top players before many head off to play for their countries in the World Amateur Team Championships. Plus, get the feeling winning medalist honors is a sign that Sydnee Michaels is ready to jump into the top 10 among college golfers.

Next event: Stanford Intercollegiate, Stanford GC, Palo Alto, Calif., Oct. 17-19

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Heard this before, Sun Devil fans? Trouble getting help from the fifth spot at the Mason Rudolph leads ASU to a fifth-place showing. The problem will be address in the spring when incoming freshmen Carlota Ciganda and Giulia Molinaro finally arrive, but until then ...

Next event: The Derby Invitational, Auburn University Club, Auburn, Ala., Oct. 24-26

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The Trojans finished only six strokes back of UCLA at the Mason Rudolph in Tennessee and their team score improved each day. Don't count out the defending national champions is all we saying

Next event: Stanford Intercollegiate, Stanford GC, Palo Alto, Calif., Oct. 17-19

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You get the impression the addition of the two Carolines (Hedwall and Masson) is going to motivate Pernilla Lindberg to work even harder than she already does. To wit: three sub-par rounds at the Mason Rudolph and a fourth-place individual finish.

Next event: Stanford Intercollegiate, Stanford GC, Palo Alto, Calif., Oct. 17-19

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The Lady Bulldogs are still three weeks away from getting back on the course ... will the long break create any rust?

Next event: The Derby Invitational, Auburn University Club, Auburn, Ala., Oct. 24-26


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STAT OF THE WEEK__

825

Final 54-hole score shot by the Wake Forest men in their 16-stroke victory at the VCU Shootout. The number is not outrageously low, but in posting this 27-under-par score at the Hermitage CC in Manakin-Sabot, Va., with Brendan Gielow also claiming co-medalist honors, the Demon Deacons tied their school record for low 54-hole total. When you've got the history and tradition that Wake Forest has, equaling such a mark is a pretty big deal, particularly after a 10th-place finish to start the fall at the Carpet Capital Classic.

"This was a very good team win," said Wake coach Jerry Haas. "The guys took responsibility for not playing well the last couple of weeks, and I think this shows how mature and determined this team is."


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TOURNAMENTS TO WATCH

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Windon Memorial Classic__

(For live results, link here to Golfstat)

North Shore CC, Glenview, Ill.

Oct. 5-6

Host: Northwestern

Field: Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kent State, Liberty, Marquette, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Northwestern, Purdue, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Tulsa

Defending champion: Northwestern (four-under 848) by one stroke over Kent State; Minnesota's Clayton Rask and Marquette's Mike Van Sickle (seven-under 206)

Skinny: North Shore has previously hosted both the U.S. Open (1933) and U.S. Amateur (1939, 1983) as well as holding the Windon in 1998 and 2003.

Memphis Intercollegiate

(For live results, link here to Golfstat)

Colonial CC (South Course), Memphis, Tenn. (Par 72, 7,334 yards)

Oct. 6-7

Host: Memphis

Field: Arkansas State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Louisville, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, Maryland, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Rice, South Alabama, South Florida, Southern Mississippi, Wisconsin, Xavier

Defending champion: Mississippi (four-under 572) by eight strokes over Southern Mississippi; Penn State's Kevin Foley (six-under 138) by one stroke over Mississippi's Jesse Speirs

Skinny: Conference USA school hosts the tournament for a fifth year.

Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic

(For live results, link here to Golfstat)

Warren GC at Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind. (Par 70, 7,023 yards)

Oct. 6-7

Host: Notre Dame

Field: Arkansas, UC Davis, DePaul, Georgetown, Iowa, Lamar, Michigan State, Minnesota, UNC Greensboro, North Florida, Notre Dame, San Diego, San Francisco, Southeastern Louisiana, Virginia, VCU

Defending champion: Michigan State (seven-over 847) by 14 strokes over Arkansas and Lamar; Michigan State's Ryan Brehm (five-under 205) by five strokes over Notre Dame's Doug Fortner and Virginia's Greg Carlin

Skinny: All participating schools have free admission to the ND/Stanford football game Oct. 4.

Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate

Savannah Quarters CC, Statesboro, Ga. (Par 72, 7,016 yards)

Oct. 6-8

Host: Georgia Southern

Field: Armstrong State, Davidson, Elon, Francis Marion, Furman, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Old Dominion, Samford, Troy, Winthrop, Western Carolina

Defending champion: Georgia Southern (eight-under 856) beat Winthrop in a playoff; Winthrop's Kelly Manders (14-under 202) by four strokes over Western Carolina's Matt Cook

__Skinny:__Tournament moves to the Greg Norman-designed course for the first time. ... Six of the Southern Conference's 11 men's golf programs are in the field.


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WOMEN

Tar Heel Invitational__

(For live results, link here to Golfstat)

UNC Finley GC, Chapel Hill, N.C. (Par 72, 6.285 yards)

Oct. 3-5

Host: North Carolina

Field: Auburn, UCF, Florida State, Furman, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, N.C. State, UNC Greensboro, Ohio State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest

Defending champion: Duke (13-over 877) by two strokes over Tennessee; Duke's Amanda Blumenherst (seven-under 209) by three strokes over Georgia's Alina Lee

Skinny: Despite winning the event 10 of the last 11 years, Duke will not be in the field because of scheduling conflicts with the Women's World Amateur Team Championship. ... Last time host UNC won its home event? 1992.

Hawkeye Intercollegiate

(For live results, link here to Golfstat)

Finkbine GC, Iowa City, Iowa (par 72, 6,202 yards)

Oct. 4-5

Host: Iowa

Field: Ball State, Bradley, Central Arkansas, Creighton, Drake, Illinois State, Iowa, Longwood, North Dakota, Northern Iowa, Oakland, Penn State, Sacramento State, South Dakota State, Wisconsin

Defending champion: Chattanooga (45-over 909) by 19 strokes over Wisconsin; Wisconsin's Katie Elliott (one-over 217) by six strokes over Chattanooga's Emma deGroot

Skinny: Host Hawkeyes were three-time champions until being knocked off by the Mocs last year. Iowa will try to win the event for the ninth time in is 31-year history.

Jeannine McHaney/Morehead Invitational

The Rawls Course, Lubbock, Texas

Oct. 6-7

Host: Texas Tech

Field: XXXX

Defending champion: Wichita State (26-over 890) by 11 strokes over Southern Mississippi; Chris Gold, Maryland (two-over 218) by two strokes over USC-Aiken's Roberto Diaz, Southern Miss's Rocky Cleland and Wichita State's Zachariah Potter

Skinny: The host Rams have never won the tournament in its first 14 years ... Minnesota can become the event's first three-time champion ... Favorite Texas A&M won the event in 2005.

Windy City Collegiate Championship

(For live results, link here to Golfstat)

Evanston GC, Skokie, Ill. (Par 72, 6.350 yards)

Oct. 6-7

Host: Northwestern

Field: Arizona, East Carolina, Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan, UNC Wilmington, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Purdue, TCU, Texas, Texas State, UNLV

Defending champion: New Event

Skinny: Wildcats first-year coach Emily Fletcher gets to try to put a stamp on her team by hosting a quality field in the tournaments inaugural playing.

Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational

(For live results, link here to Golfstat)

Sahalee CC, Sammamish, Wash.

Oct. 6-8

Host: Washington

Field: BYU, California, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Long Beach State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oregon, Oregon State, San Francisco, Stanford, Washington, Washington State

Defending champion: USC (18-over 882) by nine strokes over Arizona State; USC's Belen Mozo and Arizona's Alison Walshe (one-over 217), Mozo wins on scorecard tiebreaker

Skinny: Like Duke at the Tar Heel, traditional participant and defending champion USC had two players away at the Women's World Team Amateur so the Trojans decided to pass on traveling to Washington this season.