Lamar To Face Strong Field In Augusta :: Cardinals one of 17 ranked teams in the field of 18

April 3, 2008

The Lamar men's golf team will open play at the Administaff ASU Invitational on Friday against one of the tougher fields they have faced in the Spring season.

The 30th annual Administaff ASU Invitational gets underway Friday at 8:00 a.m. at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga. The 18-team field will include six of the top 10 and 12 of the nation's top 40 teams, according to the most recent rankings from Golfweek magazine and Golfstat.com. All but one team in the field is ranked in the top 81 in the nation and among the 90 individual players, 15 are ranked in the top 50 and 32 are among the top 100 players in the country.

In addition to the Cardinals, the field includes Clemson, Coastal Carolina, East Tennessee State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCLA, USC Aiken and Virginia Tech along with host Augusta State.

Georgia is the highest-ranked team in the field, according to Golfweek and Golfstat, at No. 2, while Georgia State senior Joel Sjoholm enters as the top-ranked player in the field at No. 4, followed by UCLA's Kevin Chappell at No. 5 and Georgia Tech's Chesson Hadley at No. 6. Coastal Carolina returns as the two-time defending champion. The Chanticleers' Dustin Johnson, currently in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, captured the individual title last spring with three consecutive rounds of four-under 68. North Carolina's Reed Darsie, George Bryan IV of South Carolina and Houston's Jordan Irwin each tied for runner-up.

Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and East Tennessee State will lead the teams out on the course Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. off Island No. 1. Georgia Tech, Tennessee and South Carolina are slated for an 8:45 tee time, while Augusta State, UCLA and Georgia will get underway at 9:30 a.m.

Lamar, Coastal Carolina and Clemson begin play at 10:15 a.m., followed by Minnesota, North Carolina and Georgia Southern at 11:00 a.m. Georgia State, Houston and USC Aiken are slated to begin their rounds at 11:45 a.m.

Saturday and Sunday morning's tee times are slated to begin at 8:00 a.m. as well. Players will begin on the Island (Palmer) nine on Friday morning and on the Creek (Player) nine on Saturday morning. Split tees will be utilized Sunday morning, with the top half of the field beginning on the Island nine and teams in 10th through 18th place beginning their final rounds on the Creek nine.

In the latest Golfstat Head-To-Head Standings, Lamar is tied for 21st with a 266-23 record. The Cardinals are ranked 32nd in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Coaches Poll.