Buttacavoli Named C-USA Co-Player of the Week
11/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 6, 2008
IRVING - Rice University junior golfer Michael Buttacavoli has been named this week's Conference USA Men's Co-Golfer of the Week following a second-place finish at the Stockton Sports Commission Pacific Invitational.
Buttacavoli shared the honor with UCF senior David Johnson who finished second at Western Carolina's Hummingbird Invitational this week.
Buttacavoli, a member of the 2008 men's golf All-Academic team, tied for second at the Pacific Invitational, firing a three-round score of 210 (70-67-73). He helped lead the Owls to a tie for third as a team, the squad's best finish of the year.
The Miami Beach, Fla., native entered Wednesday's final round with a share of the lead but three bogeys on the front nine led to a two-over par 73.
"It's always disappointing to finish second, "Buttacavoli said. "Going into the final round, you want to finish strong for yourself and your team. But finishing second and the team finishing tied for third is definitely something to be proud of and is a step in the right direction going into the spring. It gives us a lot of confidence heading into the spring season."
Buttacavoli opened the tournament with a 70 on Monday before firing a four-under par 67 Tuesday. The 67 tied for the fifth-best round at Rice since 1985 and was also a career best.
As a team, Rice finished the Pacific Invitational with a three-round score of 859 (+7), six strokes back of team champion Kansas State and three shots back of second-place UC Davis. The tournament wrapped up the fall season. Rice returns to action Feb. 2-3, 2009 when the squad travels to the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz.
Players Mentioned
