UC Irvine Heads to Simi Valley for Bill Cullum Invitational

Monday, October 16

Wood Ranch Golf Club - Simi Valley, Calif.

All Day

UC Irvine

Bill Cullum Invitational

UC Irvine Heads to Simi Valley for Bill Cullum Invitational

October 14, 2017 | Men's Golf

BILL CULLUM INVITATIONAL
Dates: Oct. 16-17, 2017 (Monday-Tuesday)
Time: 8 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Wood Ranch Golf Club - Simi Valley, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par 72 - 6,849 yards
Host: CSUN
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team continues the 2017-18 season Monday at the Bill Cullum Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole tournament will run from Oct. 16-17 at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley.

Team scores consist of the cumulative total of its four best scores out of five per round. A practice round is set for Sunday before tournament play gets underway with 36 holes on Monday, and the final 18 on Tuesday. Both days will be a shotgun start at 8 a.m.

UCI is part of a 12-team field that also features Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Northern Colorado, Redlands, Seattle, Southern Utah, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Utah State, Weber State and host CSUN.

THE COURSE
Situated in the shadows of the Santa Susana Mountains, Wood Ranch Golf Club has earned recognition among the finest private golf clubs in Ventura County. The award-winning championship par-72 golf course designed by Ted Robinson will play at 6,849 yards for the Cullum Invitational.

THE LINEUP
UC Irvine's lineup for the 22nd annual Bill Cullum Invitational will be David Kim, Jonathan Young, Ramiz Jamal, Jonathan Kang and Ray Yang. This is the second tournament of the year for Kim, Young, Jamal and Kang, while Yang is set to make his collegiate debut.

LIVE SCORING
Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.

TOURNAMENT REWIND
This is the sixth year in a row the 'Eaters will participate in the Bill Cullum Invitational. In 2016, UC Irvine claimed runner-up honors with a 54-hole total of 15-under 849. David Kim finished third in the individual standings with a score of 207 (-9), while Jonathan Kang was ninth at 210. Ramiz Jamal also placed 25th (216).

UC Santa Barbara topped the 15-team field at 833, and Jonah Texeira of USC was medalist at 14-under 202.

NEWS AND NOTES
UC Irvine kicked off its 2017-18 season with a 14th-place team finish (906) at the Nick Watney Invitational in Fresno, Oct. 2-3.

Seniors David Kim and Ryan O'Connor were the Anteaters' top performers as they both recorded a 54-hole score of 223 to tie for 30th.

O'Connor carded a 2-over 73 in the third round to jump 14 spots in the standings on the final day.

Kim had the second-best round of the tournament with his 4-under 67 through the first 18 holes.

Head coach Paul Smolinski is in his 20th year at the helm of the UCI men's golf program. The long-time coach has a veteran squad this year with eight returners, including four seniors.

David Kim is coming off an impressive 2016-17 campaign where he earned an NCAA Regional berth and was named the Big West Player of the Year. He was also tops on the team with a 71.28 average, and placed among the top-10 in eight tournaments.

Ryan O'Connor (74.03), senior Jonathan Young (74.23), and sophomore Jonathan Kang (74.23) each added a top-10 finish last year.

Also back for the 'Eaters are senior Johnny Hyun (76.60), and juniors Ramiz Jamal (73.67), Jefferson Kao (76.67) and Chris Parkinson (75.67).

UP NEXT
UC Irvine is back in action at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational, Oct. 26-28, before it closes out the fall season at the Saint Mary's Invitational (Nov. 6-8).