Golf Set to Host Hurricane Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Set to host the Hurricane Invitational for the first time since March of 2018, the University of Miami golf team is thrilled to return to the Biltmore Hotel and Golf Course for more than just a round of practice.
“It is exciting to be back and the course is starting to look in great shape again,” 10th-year head coach Patti Rizzo said. “The layout is looking really nice and I think [the course] will be harder than it was in previous tournaments. That is because we set it up differently to make some high risk reward holes and some par threes are going to be a little bit longer. It is going to be a nice challenge.”
Squaring off against 12 teams in the City Beautiful, the Hurricanes will tee off Monday at 8 a.m. for the first of two opening day rounds at the par 72, 6,100-yard Biltmore course.
Rising to 26th in both the golfstat.com rankings and WGCA Coaches Poll, the Hurricanes are looking to continue to ascend upwards after earning four consecutive top-four finishes, most recently placing second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate on Feb. 18.
This spring, the Hurricanes have not only excelled as a team, but senior Renate Grimstad captured her first career collegiate title, finishing 14-under-par at the UCF Challenge, just two weeks prior to sophomore Anna Backman capturing medalist honors in New Orleans.
On Monday, the Canes will look to defend their 2018 Hurricane Invitational title. Two years ago, the Hurricanes were led by a quartet of top-20 individual finishes, as Grimstad tied for second, former Miami golf standout Dewi Weber tied for fifth, senior Macarena Aguilera tied for 10th and junior Kristyna Frydlova tied for 19th.
This season, Miami’s trio of upperclassmen are excited to have the opportunity to defend the aforementioned title.
“Everyone is really excited since it has been two years since we have competed here, but it is a great advantage to play at our home course since we practice here every day,” Frydlova said. “We look forward to having our fans supporting us and also my parents are coming. It is going to be really fun to have the two of them here, where they will have the chance to see me play at Miami for the first time.”
Joining the Hurricanes in Coral Gables are a pair of top-25 teams, ninth-ranked Arizona and No. 16 Oklahoma State, while three other programs rank among the top-50, No. 28 Oklahoma, No. 30 Illinois and No. 50 Michigan. Rounding out the strong group of competitors are No. 53 Maryland, No. 54 TCU, No. 62 Indiana, No. 76 Penn State, No. 85 Texas State and No. 99 Middle Tennessee, while Barry enters the field as the fifth-ranked team in Division II.
“There are a lot of good teams set to play in [this year’s event], which always helps add to the competitiveness level. So, I am definitely excited,” Grimstad said. “The team is also excited and we are ready to repeat our victory from [two years ago].”
Meanwhile, the four newest Canes, Backman and freshmen Daniella Barrett, Franziska Sliper and Morgan Pankow, are excited to compete in their first home collegiate title.
“Since we didn’t get to host this tournament last year, I have just really been looking forward to it,” Backman said. “This tournament is going to be a ton of fun. Our team has been playing really well, so I am really excited for what this tournament, as well as the [rest of the] spring will have in store.”
Monday’s event will be made open to the public, while live stats for the two-day event will be accessible HERE. Both days of competition will open with a shotgun start at 8 a.m., with two rounds being completed on Monday and the final round set for Tuesday.
