Men’s Golf Begins Postseason Play at American Championship

HOUSTON — The Rice Men's Golf team begins its second season this week, Apr. 27-29, when it travels to Sarasota, Fla., for the American Championship, played at the Ritz Carlton Members Club.

TEAM FIELD

Rice is ranked No. 68 in the latest Scoreboard rankings. Joining the Owls in the 11-team field are No. 22 Charlotte, No. 55 South Florida, No. 70 Memphis, No. 92 North Texas, and No. 100 UAB. East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Temple, UTSA, and Wichita State are also participating.

JUSTIN EMIL QUOTABLE

"We are excited to head down to Florida for the conference championship. We definitely have a shot this week at the title. It all boils down to taking all of our experiences and learning opportunities that this season has provided and leaving the course with no regrets."

HOW TO WATCH

Fans can watch the final round of the American Championship on Wednesday on ESPN+ or by clicking here.

LIVE SCORING

Fans can follow live scoring of the American Championship by visiting Scoreboard.com or by clicking here.

LINEUP

Lukas Boandl – No. 1 position … ranked 98^th in the latest Scoreboard rankings … American Conference Golfer of the Week (4/16) … leads the team with a 70.66 stroke average … team-high 21 rounds of par or better … tied the school record with 11 rounds in the 60's … second on the team with 112 birdies … three top five, three top ten, and seven top 20 finishes … is third in school history in career stroke average (72.67) and fourth in average vs. par (1.06) … career leader in rounds of par or better (59) and rounds in the 60's (25), second in top five finishes (6), third in top 20 finishes (19), and ninth in top 10 finishes (6) … tied for first at the Trinity Forest Invitational at -12 before falling on the second hole of a playoff … opened with consecutive 66's before closing with a 69 … set the school record for 36-hile score (132), and his 54-hole score of 201 is the second lowest in school history … runner-up finish at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30), finishing -8 and helping the Owls to the team title … tied for fifth at the Mossy Oak Collegiate (4/13-14) … fired a second round 65, tying the second lowest round in school history … tied for 12^th-place at the Argent Financial Classic (9/7-9) … tied for 11^th at the Cabo Collegiate … tied for 13^th at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational (10/25) … 2025 AAC All-Conference ... 2025 NCAA Bremerton Regional participant.

Daniel Zou – No. 2 position … second on the team with a 72.00 stroke average … second with 16 rounds of par or better and third with 91 birdies … five rounds in the 60's … is first in school history in career stroke average (71.89) and average vs. par (0.26), fifth in rounds in the 60's (14), and seventh in rounds of par or better (37) … tied for seventh at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30) finishing at -5 … tied for 11^th at the All-American Intercollegiate (3/16-17) … tied for 15^th-place at the Argent Financial Classic … 2025 AAC All-Conference ... 2025 AAC Freshman of the Year ... AAC Golfer of the Week (3/5) … 2025 NCAA Bremerton Regional participant.

Henry Daly – No. 3 position … transfer from Virginia … in his second stint at Rice, where he began his collegiate career as a freshman in 2022 … third on the team with a 72.88 stroke average … third with 15 rounds of par or better … leads the team with 116 birdies … five rounds in the 60's … had a career-best tied for fourth-place finish at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30), where he tied his career-low round 67 in the first round … tied for eighth-place at the Cabo Collegiate (3/1-3), where he opened with rounds of 69-68 … his 54-hole score of 208 was a career-low … tied for 18^th-place at the Trinity Forest Invitational (10/5-7).

Reggie Zhu – No. 4 position … averaging 73.50 strokes per round … 11 rounds of par or better … is sixth in school history in career stroke average (73.47) and seventh in average vs. par (1.92) … tied for 12^th-place at the Trinity Forest Invitational (10/7-9), where he fired a season-low 67 in the final round … tied for 13^th at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30), where he helped the Owls to the team title.

Raines Watson – No. 5 position … averaging 73.86 strokes per round … 12 rounds of par or better … three rounds in the 60's … fourth on the team with 90 birdies … tied for fourth-place at the Bentwater Intercollegiate (2/9-10), closing with a pair of 70's … 12^th-place at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30) … set a season-best for low 54-hole score (212) at the Hal Williams Collegiate (2/16-17) … fired a season-best 67 in the first round of the Cabo Collegiate (3/1).

Davis Byrd – Substitute … has a 74.78 stroke average … six rounds of par or better … has 45 birdies on the year … tied for 19^th-place at the Colin Montgomerie HCU Invitational (3/2-3) … tied for 23^rd-place at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic after opening with rounds of 72-71 (10/29-30) … tied for 28^th-place at the All-American Individual (3/16-17) … tied for 32^nd-place at the Bentwater Intercollegiate (2/9-10).

PAIRINGS

The Owls will tee off at 8:25 a.m. CT from hole No. 1. Rice will compete in groups with student-athletes from Charlotte and South Florida. Tuesday and Wednesday tee times and pairings will depend on results following the previous round.

UP NEXT

With a win at the American Championship, Rice will advance to the NCAA Regionals, played May 18-20 at a site to be determined.

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