Golf Begins Postseason Play at AAC Championship

HOUSTON — The Rice Golf team will begin postseason play when it travels to Belleair, Fla., for the 2024 American Athletic Conference Championship, Apr. 19-21. The tournament will be held at the par-70, 6,881-yard Pelican Golf Club.

TEAM FIELD

Joining Rice in the 12-team field are UAB, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, North Texas, South Florida, SMU, Temple, UTSA, and Wichita State.

JUSTIN EMIL QUOTABLE

"The team is excited to compete in the conference championship this week. Our goal is to give ourselves a chance, playing our way into contention going into the last nine holes."

LIVE SCORING

Fans can follow live scoring of the AAC Championship by visiting Golfstat.com or by clicking here.

HOW TO WATCH

The final round of the AAC Championship will be streamed on Sunday by ESPN+ or by clicking here.

THE LINEUP

Reggie Zhu – No. 1 position … AAC Golfer of the Week (2/21) … leads the team with a 73.15 stroke average … second on the team with nine rounds of par or better … two top 20 finishes … had the best finish of his career at the Border Olympics, tying for third-place at -10 … fired a final round 66, tying the lowest round and lowest round to par by a freshman in school history … the -10 for the tournament set a Rice freshman record, becoming just the third player in school history to finish a tournament at -10 or better … tied for 12^th-place at the All-American Intercollegiate (3/18-19) … tied for 22nd-place at the Bentwater Intercollegiate (2/12-13) … tied for 39^th-place at the Argent Financial Classic (9/10-12).

Raghav Chugh – No. 2 position … is first since 1991 in career stroke average (72.77) and average vs. par (+1.07) … is second on the team with a 73.60 stroke average … tied for third on the team with seven rounds of par or better … tied for 11^th-place at the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational (10/9-10) … tied a career-low with a 67 in the second round … tied for 26^th-place the Bentwater Intercollegiate (2/12-13) … tied for 67^th-place at the Argent Financial Classic (9/10-12) … 2023 First Team All-Conference USA … three-time C-USA Men's Golfer of the Week.

Lukas Boandl – No. 3 position … is third on the team with a 74.00 stroke average … tied for third on the team with seven rounds of par or better … tied for 12^th at the Argent Financial Classic (9/10-12), where he set a career-low 54-hole score of 213 … tied for 13^th at the Hoosier Collegiate (4/6-7) … 2023 Conference USA All-Freshman Team.

Jay Kirchdorfer – No. 4 position … is fourth since 1991 in career stroke average (73.69) and average vs. par (+2.02) … is fourth on the team with a 74.27 stroke average … team-high 10 rounds of par or better … finished -12 and runner-up at the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational (10/9-10), where he set career lows for round (67), 36-hole score (135) and 54-hole score (204) … his 36-hole score of 135 tied the school record … his -12 and 54-hole score of 204 are both the second lowest in school history … tied for the team lead with six rounds of par or better … tied for 12^th at the Argent Financial Classic (9/10-12) … 2023 Third Team All-Conference USA … C-USA Men's Golfer of the Week (Feb. 22, 2023).

Jaivir Pande – No. 5 position … has a 76.17 stroke average … four rounds of par or better … tied for 26^th-place at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational (10/28-29) … carded back-to-back 72's in the first two rounds … finished in 28^th-place at the All-American Intercollegiate Individual tournament (3/18-19) … tied for 40^th-place at the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational (10/9-10) … tied for 58^th-place at the Argent Financial Classic, where he fired a second round 67.

Braeden Hoyt – Substitution … has a 75.07 stroke average … tied for 26^th-place at the Border Olympics (2/19-20) …fired a career-best 69 in the second round … tied for 34^th-place at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational (10/28-29), where he carded a final round 72 … tied for 36^th-place at the Benterwater Intercollegiate (2/12-13) and All-American Intercollegiate Individual Tournament (3/18-19).

PAIRINGS

The Owls will tee off from hole No. 10 beginning at 7 a.m. CT. Rice will compete in groups with student-athletes from Temple and Wichita State. Saturday's tee times and pairings will depend on results following the previous round.

UP NEXT

With a victory at the American Athletic Conference Championship, Rice will earn a bid to the NCAA Regionals, May 13-15.

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