March 19, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After taking a couple weeks off for reading week and winter quarter final exams, Northwestern's 38th-ranked Wildcats return to the golf course on Sunday at the 26th Annual Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas.
This annual event for the Wildcats is being played at The Hills Country Club (par 72, 6,247 yards). The tournament honors former University of Texas golfer Betsy Rawls, who was one of the most prolific golfers of her day. She won more than 50 tour championships between 1951 and 1975 -- including four U.S. Opens -- and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1977.
Once again, Northwestern will be competing against some of the nation's top programs. In addition to the Wildcats, these schools will be participating: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Kansas, Kansas State, UNLV, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Purdue, Southern California, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Tulsa and Vanderbilt.
"This is a big test for us -- we're playing some great competition on one of the nation's most challenging courses," says NU coach Chris Regenberg. "Our players will have to be patient and know when to be aggressive and when to be conservative on this golf course. If our short games are on, we could beat some top-ranked teams at this event."
Oklahoma State, which is not in this year's field, won last year's event. The Wildcats placed 10th a year ago.
Live stats and latest results are available for the tournament by linking to Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational.