Men's Golf Opens Play In 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship On Friday
04/30/2008 | Men's Golf
April 30, 2008
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - The Richmond men's golf team will compete in the 2008 Atlantic 10 Men's Golf Championship, Friday through Sunday at Orange County National Golf Club.
The 54-hole tournament will begin each day with tee times at 8 a.m.
The Spiders are the second-highest ranked team among the 12 Atlantic 10 schools that will compete for the championship. The two-time defending champion Charlotte 49ers, who finished third at the NCAA National Championship last spring, are the favorites with a No. 5 national ranking from Golfstat.
Richmond, which has finished fourth at the Atlantic 10 Championship in each of the last three years, had its best A-10 finish in 2004 when the Spiders tied for third.
"We have an experienced, tournament tested team going down there and we're looking forward to putting it all together," Richmond head coach Adam Decker said. "Charlotte is obviously the favorite, so we're going to have to play our best golf to stay with them."
Richmond has three of the top-10 scoring averages in the Atlantic 10, led by senior Jordan Utley's team-best 73.2. Utley finished 19th at last year's A-10 Championship played at Orange County and won the ODU/Seascape Invitational during the fall season, marking his second collegiate tournament victory.
"We've got to put some good rounds together and come together at the right time," Utley said. "I think the good scores are there, it's just a matter of putting it together at the right time."
Sophomore transfer Robert Lindstrom, who is the only Spider making his Atlantic 10 Championship debut, is seventh in the conference with a 73.5 average.
Junior Tim Courtney , who finished 10th at last year's A-10 Championship to earn all-conference honors, has the 10th-best scoring average in the league (74.2).
"I'm a big fan of this golf course, I've played well there in the past and I'm definitely looking forward to get back down there," Courtney said. "Charlotte has had a phenomenal year, but we certainly have the fire power to do it. It's just a matter of putting it all together at the right time."
Joining Utley, Lindstrom and Courtney at the Orange County National will be senior Billy Hanes and junior Grant Rafield, who both played in last year's A-10 Championship. Hanes finished 34th and Rafield took 57th at last year's event.