The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men's Golf Battles Tough Jerry Pate Field
10/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 9, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The upstart UAB men's golf team looks to continue its recent upset streak when it takes to the links again at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 10 and 11 at Old Overton Golf Club in Birmingham. The tournament, hosted by the University of Alabama, will feature 54 holes with 36 played Monday and 18 played Tuesday.
UAB is coming off its own Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in which it finished third behind LSU and Tennessee. The Blazers came from eighth place in the 15-team field after round one to finish strong. On the way to the third-place finish, UAB upset No. 3 Florida, No. 14 Georgia State and No. 17 Alabama.
"We showed at Shoal Creek we have the potential to be one of the top men's golf teams in the country," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "There's a big difference, however, in doing that one week and then carrying it over and being consistent with that type of play. Hopefully, we'll continue to play well and turn the corner on being a consistently strong team at the Jerry Pate."
The Jerry Pate will feature 12 teams and gives the Blazers plenty of opportunity to continue their upset ways. Only three teams in the field are not ranked in the first Golf Coaches Association of America poll of the year. No. 1 Georgia headlines a list of UAB's competitors that includes No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 7 Brigham Young, Nos. 15 Augusta State and TCU, Nos. 17 Alabama and Clemson, No. 20 Auburn and No. 22 Arizona. Tulsa and Vanderbilt are also scheduled to play.
Golfweek's Sagarin ratings have UAB's schedule ranked as the 12th most difficult in the country.
"My philosophy has always been that you can't learn to be the best if you don't play the best," Kaufman said. "That's why we work hard to play events like the Jerry Pate. We want to put ourselves up against the top programs nationally. This field is probably the toughest we'll face this year and it will be a significant challenge for us."
Garrett Osborn, rated the No. 14 golfer in the nation in the same Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, will again lead the Blazers to the tee box. The junior from Mountain Brook, Ala., suffered a slight wrist strain in practice this week but is expected to be at or near 100 percent for the tournament. Senior Clark Brown, sophomore Kaylor Timmons and freshmen Josh Thompson and Zack Sucher round out the Blazers' lineup.
UAB Men's Golf Tournament Notes in PDF Format
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