Feb. 29, 2008

The No. 7 USC men's golf team, led by defending NCAA individual champion Jamie Lovemark, returns to action by hosting the USC Collegiate Invitational, Monday and Tuesday (March 3-4), at the North Ranch C.C. in Westlake Village, Calif.

Trojan sophomore Rory Hie will be out to defend his 2007 USC Collegiate Invitational individual title against the 16-team field that includes BYU, California, Fresno State, Loyola Marymount, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Pepperdine, No. 6 Stanford, No. 11 Tennessee, UCLA (Blue Team), No. 7 USC and Washington.

The field will play 36 holes on Monday beginning at 7:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. The final 18 holes on Tuesday begin at 7:30 a.m. off the 1st and 10th tees. The event is open to the public. For directions, please see the end of these notes.

Live results of the event will be available at Golfstat.com.

SO FAR THIS SEASON
The Trojans have finished in the top 3 in their last four events (and finished eighth in the other) ... Four different golfers have at least tied for team-high honors in USC's five tournaments this season. Junior Tom Glissmeyer was the high finisher in USC's opening-season eighth-place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate, sophomores Rory Hie and Jamie Lovemark tied for sixth at the Ping/Golfweek Fall Preview, Lovemark was second at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational, freshman Tim Sluiter and Hie tied for ninth at the CordeValleCollegiate and Lovemark and Hie tied for fifth at the UH Hilo Invitational.

Jamie Lovemark
Sophomore Jamie Lovemark, a 2007 All-American first teamer and NCAA individual champion who won virtually every individual award available to an NCAA men's golfer as a freshman, again leads the Trojans in stroke average at 70.25 ... He has finished in the top 6 in three of his four events this year, including a second at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate, a tie for sixth at the Ping/Golfweek Fall Preview and a tie for fifth at the UH Hilo Invitational ... Lovemark missed USC's season-opener while representing the United States at the Walker Cup ... In four starts, he has three rounds in the 60s, including a season-best 65 at the UH Hilo Invitational ... For the second consecutive season, Lovemark is on the Watch List for the 2008 The Ben Hogan Award (he was a semifinalist last year) ... Also, Lovemark has recently been tabbed as one of 11 finalists for the 2007 Sullivan Award, which honors the nation's top amateur athlete. Fan voting counts for one third of the vote. Voting ends March 10.

Rory Hie
Sophomore Rory Hie, All-Pac-10 second team as a freshman, is averaging 71.60 strokes per round, second on the team of those who have played more than one event. Like Lovemark, Hie has three top 10 finishes, including a tie for fifth at the UH Hilo Invitational, a tie for sixth at the Ping/Golfweek Fall Preview and a tie for ninth at the CordeValle Collegiate ... Hie has three rounds in the 60s, including a USC record 62 in the second round of the UH Hilo Invitational (on a 70 par course). The previous USC record was 63.

Tom Glissmeyer
Junior Tom Glissmeyer, a 2007 All-Pac-10 honorable mention selection, is averaging 72.50 strokes per round. He finished a season-best tied for seventh at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate and has two other top 20 finishes. He carded a season-low of 69 at the UH Hilo Invitational.

Tim Sluiter
Freshman Tim Sluiter has been solid in his first season with the Trojans and boasts a stroke average of 72.67. He tied for ninth at the CordeValle Collegiate (which included a final-round 69), tied for 11th at the Fall Preview and tied for 14th at the Inverness Intercollegiate ... He fired a season-low 67 at the UH Hilo Collegiate.

Redshirt freshman Bo DeHuff and freshman Gavin Reid both played at the Inverness Intercollegiate, finishing tied for 50th and 71st, respectively. DeHuff was also tied for 50th at the CordeValle Collegiate. Freshman Daniel Park played at the Fall Preview, tying for 55th. Reid also was 83rd at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate.

Freshman Matthew Giles, from Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia, is a spring semester enrollee who made his Trojan debut at the UH Hilo Collegiate. He tied for 20th and posted a 68 first round and a 67 third round.

DIRECTIONS TO NORTH RANCH
From the Hollywood (101) Freeway, headed north, take the Westlake Blvd. off ramp. Go north (right) approximately 2-1/4 miles to Valley Spring Drive. Turn right onto Valley Spring Drive. Go one mile to third stop sign (just past Club View entrance). Turn left into North Ranch Country Club. You can also click here for directions.