by Don Jones
Staff Writer
With two conference championships under its belt already this season, the University of Houston has a shot for their third, beginning today.
The Cougars golf team has home course advantage as hosts of the Conference USA Golf Championships, today though Thursday at Columbia Lakes Golf Course in West Columbia.
A slight preview of the tournament was given this past weekend as the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Houston competed in the All-America Intercollegiate at Pine Forest Country Club in Houston. The UAB Blazers finished first, shooting 591 through eight rounds while Houston finished third, 10 strokes behind at 601.
"I think it's UAB and Houston (as favorites)," Houston coach Mike Dirks said. "We've got a good chance. We're ranked 18th in the country."
The Blazers are not ranked but possibly should be, Dirks said.
"UAB is a good program," he said.
Both teams presently lead in conference statistics and should be favorites to win the conference championship. UAB is averaging a four-round score of 296.9. Houston is averaging slightly better at 294.9.
Individually, UAB and Houston have five of the top six golfers. Paul Dickinson and Andrew Laurence of UAB average 72.2 and 74.4 per round, respectively. Victor Schwamkrug (73.6), Chris Morris (73.6) and Mike Brennan (73.8) are the top guns for the Cougars.
Morris missed the Carpet Capital Collegiate April 4-6 in Dalton, Ga., with lung problems, but he competed this weekend and is fine for the championships, Dirks said.
Chris Colli of South Florida is the other player in the top six. Colli has a 74.3 per-round average.
Although the official seedings have yet to be released, Jeff Kearney, a spokesman for C-USA, said Golf Stat, a national ranking organization, has Houston as the first seed with UAB as second seed.
Memphis and South Florida also are legitimate contenders for the conference title. Both teams are shooting 300 or better. South Florida's team average is 300.6 and Memphis has a team average of 299.6
Even with four teams having a legitimate shot at the title, the field is not as strong as it was when Houston was facing Southwest Conference teams, Dirks said.
"We had five teams (in the SWC last season) in the Top 25," he said.
UNC Charlotte, a lower tier team this year, is the tournament's defending conference champion, having won on its home course last year.
Tee time on Tuesday and Wednesday is 9 a.m., and Thursday's final round is scheduled to tee off at 8 a.m.
Sports Editor Adam Burns contributed to this story.