Houston, TX — 17 collegiate golf teams traveled to the Golf Club of Houston to start the week with this year’s All-American Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Houston and Rice University. Unfortunately, the final round was cancelled due to inclement weather in the area, but the players were able to get two rounds in one day.
For those of you who do not know how team golf works, it is rather simple. Each college brings five players to compete on the team. Each one plays their round, and the highest score out of the five is dropped, or not added into to the team’s final score for that round. Teams are allowed to bring more than five to the tournament, but any players over the five just compete as an individual. Their score cannot count for the team even if it is better. With all, let’s get into the tournament.
Florida State Runs Away with It
After the first day of play, which also ended up being the last, Florida State was sitting at 7-under as a team. The closest to them was Houston at a total of 10-over par. From the start the Seminoles just dominated the field. Three of their five golfers, Frederik Kjettrup, Cole Anderson, and Daniel Bradbury, all finished in the top 10 individually. Their fourth man, Michael Sakne, finished just outside the top-10. No other team had all four of their scores in that top eleven.
Florida State also lead the field in almost every statistical category. The team averaged a score of 4.08 on par-4s and a 4.78 on par-5s, both the lowest out of any team in the tournament. In addition to this, the Noles rolled in more birdies than anyone else, totaling 29. The closest to them was Mississippi State with 25.
Kjettrup and Gray Tie for The Lead
Because the final round of the All-American was cancelled due to weather, we were unable to see Frederik Kjettrup (Florida State) and Bret Gray (Sam Houston) battle it out for the individual crown. However, they both played amazing golf in the first two rounds to end the tournament at 3-under par. Bret Gray was not even playing with his team this week, just as an individual. Even without his team he was still able to finish in the top spot.
Overall, Gray played two very consistent rounds, shooting 71 in the first and 70 in the second.
However, he was able to put together a great back nine during his second round. He totaled four birdies on the nine holes, and if it weren’t for his three bogeys on the front nine, this tournament would’ve been his outright.
What’s Next
The next big tournament for college golf comes next week, March 28th and 29th at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational. This event is hosted by the Floridan Yacht and Golf Club in Palm City, Florida. The tournament will include eight of the nation’s top 25 golf teams including Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Texas A&M. Other teams competing are Duke, Florida State, Houston, Marquette, South Carolina, and South Florida. This should be one of the best college tournaments this season.
