USF Athletics

Bradley's Bulls Eye Four-Peat at Conference Championship

April 21, 2018

EVENT: American Athletic Conference Championship
DATES: Sunday, April 22 – Tuesday, April 24
LOCATION: Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club, Palm Harbor, Fla.
COURSE LAYOUT: Copperhead Course (par 71, 7,125  yards)
LIVE SCORING: Golfstat.com
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFMGolf
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
TEE TIMES
 
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, APRIL 21, 2018 – Top-seeded USF is determined to complete a four-peat at the American Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship, presented by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, in Palm Harbor, Fla.

Action at the three-day event begins Sunday with 18 holes at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club's Copperhead Course (par 71, 7,125 yards). The American Digital Network will provide coverage of Tuesday's final round beginning at 11:30 a.m.

USF has won the past three conference championships in wire-to-wire fashion and finished 15 strokes ahead of Cincinnati and Houston last spring at Innisbrook. Head coach Steve Bradley's 21^st-ranked Bulls have built momentum for the postseason by capturing four tournament titles this season, including two this spring – the Sea Best Invitational (Feb. 6) and USF Invitational (March 13).

If the Bulls pull off the four-peat at the conference tournament, they'll match the program season wins record of five tournament titles set in 2014-15, Bradley's first season with the program. USF tuned up for the postseason with a second-place finish at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship on Tuesday in West Point, Miss.

The Field (Ordered by Seeding)
USF, Houston, UCF, East Carolina, SMU, Cincinnati, Memphis, UConn, Wichita State and Temple.

The Lineup
Four of the five Bulls from last season's conference championship victory return to Coach Bradley's lineup:

1. Claudio Correa – The senior from Santiago, Chile is ranked as No. 32 collegiate player in the nation by Golfstat. Correa has placed in the top 20 of USF's past three conference championship runs, including a fourth-place finish in 2016. Correa leads the lineup this season with a 71.4 scoring average and five top-10 finishes along with posting nine top-25 performances in 10 events.
2. Cristian DiMarco – The senior from Longwood, Fla., helped USF capture its past two conference titles and earned runner-up honors last spring. DiMarco ranks No. 61 among NCAA players this season and he's been steady with a 71.5 scoring average, four top-10 performances and nine top-25 finishes.
3. Kyle Flexsenhar – This will mark Flexsenhar's first run in the lineup at the conference championship. The sophomore from Lake Mary, Fla., has been consistent this season with a 72.7 scoring average, four top-10 finishes and five top-25 outings.
4. Jimmy Jones – The senior from Tampa is in the conference tournament lineup for the second time after tying for third last spring. Jones heads to the postseason with a 72.7 scoring average, three top-10 performances and six top-25 finishes.
5. Priyanshu Singh – The senior from Delhi, India is back in the lineup for the conference tournament after tying for 11^th last spring at Innisbrook. Singh has a title victory to his credit this season along with a two top-25 finishes.

 
Quotable
Head coach Steve Bradley's thoughts on the lineup heading into the conference tournament:
"We won there last year and we return four of the five guys that played on that winning team, so there's confidence there and the ability to know they can play that golf course pretty well. Kyle was there last year to see what a conference championship looks and feels like. He saw the way the course was set up last year, so there's going to be an easier transition for him than maybe somebody that has never seen that golf course or those conditions. All in all, I think the guys are pretty confident heading into this week."

Bradley on Innisbrook's Copperhead Course:
"It's a privilege for us to be able to play a course of this quality and magnitude for our conference championship. You get a chance to play a PGA Tour-caliber golf course. It's a great test for our guys, who obviously want to play at the next level. They watch it on TV and they get to play the course in person, so for them it's a really cool experience. For us, it's a great opportunity to test them at the highest level."

Bradley on the top-seeded Bulls' focus heading into the conference tournament:
"We've got to go in there and handle our business. We can't be worried about the other teams and what the other players are doing. We're going out there to play that golf course with our golf games and hopefully it's better than everybody else's. If we play well, I'm confident that we'll get a win. If we don't play well, then we kind of leave it in other people's hands. Really, it's on us to handle our business and do what we need to do. If so, I think we've got a pretty good chance."

About USF Men's Golf
USF men's golf returns six players from the 2016-17 team that captured the program's third consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship title. Head coach Steve Bradley has been at the helm for all three league championship runs and guided the Bulls back to the final rounds of the NCAA Championship in 2016. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.