University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Open Spring Schedule in Puerto Rico
2/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
THIS WEEK: The Minnesota men’s golf team makes its 2008 spring debut in the Caribbean this weekend, when the Golden Gophers travel to Rio Grande, P.R., to compete in the NCAA Shootout-Puerto Rico Classic. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being hosted by Purdue University at the par 72, 6,902-yard Rio Mar Country Club. The tournament will be played over three days and feature three 18-hole rounds, beginning with 7 a.m. (CST) tee times on Friday, Feb. 29.
THE FIELD: Minnesota will face top competition at the NCAA Shootout-Puerto Rico Classic. The 15-team field includes a total of 13 members of the Feb. 24 Golfweek Top 50, including: No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Duke, No. 29 East Tennessee State, No. 36 Michigan, No. 39 Kent State, No. 41 Minnesota, No. 44 North Carolina State and No. 50 Texas. Also in the field are Northwestern and Purdue.
LAST YEAR IN PUERTO RICO: The Golden Gophers will be facing many of the same teams during this season’s Puerto Rico Classic as they did a year ago. The University of Georgia won the 2007 version by shooting a -14 850, one shot better than Clemson and Stanford. Minnesota finished seventh by carding a three-round total of 864. The Gophers were led by former All-American Niall Turner and current Gopher sophomore Ben Pisani, who both shot a -2 214 and finished tied for 12th.
THE GOPHERS: Minnesota’s lineup for the Puerto Rico Classic will feature a pair of seniors , Clayton Rask and Andy Paulson, junior Victor Almstrom, sophomore Ben Pisani and freshman Mikael Salminen. Salminen did not compete during the Fall season and will be making his collegiate debut.
FALL RECAP: Minnesota’s best finish during the Fall was a fourth place showing in the Windon Memorial Classic at Lake Shore County Club in Glencoe, Ill.
Rask paced Minnesota during the fall with a team-best stroke average of 71.33, including four top-five finishes in five appearances and a tie for first place finish in the Windon Memorial Classic. Almstrom was not far behind, as he finished with an average of 72.67 and three top-five finishes, including a second place finish in the PING/Golfweek Preview. Pisani had the team’s third lowest average at 75.33 followed by Paulson with a 75.40 average.
UP NEXT: Minnesota returns to action March 7-9, when the Golden Gophers travel to Las Vegas to compete in the Las Vegas Founders event. The 54-hole tournament is being hosted by UNLV at Southern Highlands Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nev.
Players Mentioned
