RED RAIDERS TEE OFF AT ISLEWORTH SUNDAY
October 23, 2009 | Men's Golf
Oct. 23, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - Arguably one of the more prestigious events in college golf, the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational gets underway Sunday with 15 of the nation's top programs competing at Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Windermere, Fla. Texas Tech University is the host of this year's event.
"The field is without a doubt one of the strongest in the country, if not the strongest," said Greg Sands, Texas Tech's men's head golf coach. "It's an honor to host this event at such a distinguished club. I'm happy Texas Tech golf and the university get to put our name on something that is regarded as the premier golf tournament in the country."
The 54-hole event begins each day, Sunday through Tuesday, with an 8 a.m. ET start at holes 1 & 10. A practice round is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Isleworth Golf & Country Club features a par 72, 7,491-yard format, and consistently ranks as one of the longest and most difficult courses in the state of Florida. The course was designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, and later redesigned and enhanced by Steve Smyers.
Seven of the 15 teams in the field are ranked among the top 10 nationally, including top-ranked Oklahoma State. Arizona State (2/2), Illinois (3/6), Washington (4/3), TCU (5/8), Stanford (6/5) and Florida (10/11) are ranked in the latest Golfweek/Golfstat polls. South Carolina (12/9) and Alabama (15/20) rank among the top 15, while tournament host Texas Tech (22/23), Clemson (23/22) and Georgia (24/24) round out the programs in the top 25. Traditional golf powers East Tennessee State, UCF and Kentucky complete the field.
As of Monday, 22 of the top 50 golfers in Golfweek's rankings will compete in the tournament, including second-ranked Trent Whitekiller of Oklahoma State. Arizona State, TCU and Oklahoma State each have three golfers among the top 50, while Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Texas Tech (No. 21 Nils Floren and No. 28 Chris Ward) and Washington have two each. East Tennessee State, Florida and Stanford each have a golfer among the top 50.
Georgia enters the event as the reigning champion and has won four of the five titles since the tournament's inception in 2004. UGA's Russell Henley, last year's medalist, is among the tournament field this year.
The Isleworth Collegiate Invitational was created in 2004 to give collegiate players and coaches the feel of a PGA Tour event. The tournament provides collegiate golfers the opportunity to compete on one of the toughest courses in the nation against the best players in the game.
Players Mentioned
