HOUSTON — Coming off consecutive victories, the Rice Men’s Golf team closes its fall slate when it travels to Alabama for the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 25-26, played at Steelwood Golf Club in Loxley, Ala.
TEAM FIELD
Rice is ranked No. 51 in the latest Scoreboard rankings. Joining the Owls in the 14-team field are No. 23 Wake Forest, No. 33 Purdue, No. 35 West Virginia, No. 38 Texas A&M, No. 54 Kansas State, No. 64 South Alabama, No. 66 Nebraska, No. 67 Memphis, No. 78 Rutgers, No. 89 Kennesaw State, No. 95 Iowa State. Louisiana Tech and Virginia Tech are also participating.
JUSTIN EMIL QUOTABLE
“We’re excited to get back at it this week in Alabama. This is a traditional tournament on our schedule, so it is a familiar trip. I’m looking forward to closing our fall schedule with a good performance.”
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring of the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational by visiting Scoreboard.com or by clicking here.
THE LINEUP
Lukas Boandl – No. 1 position … ranked 86th in the latest Scoreboard rankings … leads the team with a 69.50 stroke average … team-high 11 rounds of par or better and six rounds in the 60’s … first on the team with 57 birdies … is third in school history in career stroke average (72.86), and average vs. par (1.20) … career leader in rounds in the 60’s (20), third in rounds of par or better (49), third in top five finishes (5), sixth in top 20 finishes (15), and 10th in top 10 finishes (10) … 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 12th-place at the Argent Financial Classic (9/7-9) … 2025 AAC All-Conference … 2025 NCAA Bremerton Regional participant.
Henry Daly – No. 2 position … transfer from Virginia … in his second stint at Rice, where he began his collegiate career as a freshman in 2022 … second on the team with a 71.00 stroke average, 10 rounds of par or better, and 56 birdies … three 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 18th-place at the Trinity Forest Invitational (10/5-7) … tied for 27th-place at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate … as a freshman, participated in four tournaments … had a 70.91 stroke average … four top 20 finishes … seven rounds of par or better … five rounds in the 60’s … had a season-best seventh-place tie at the Tempest Collegiate (10/9-11).
Daniel Zou – No. 3 position … third on the team with a 71.33 stroke average, seven rounds of par or better, and 44 birdies … is first in school history in career stroke average (71.69) and average vs. par (-0.06), and 10th in rounds of par or better (28) … tied for seventh at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30) finishing at -5 … tied for 15th-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.
Raines Watson – No. 4 position … averaging 73.11 strokes per round … five rounds of par or better … two rounds in the 60’s … 12th-place at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30) … averaged 73.23 strokes per round in his junior events … last year, won the Region 3-5A tournament with a 74-68 (142) and finished third at the UIL Class 5-A state tournament … qualified for the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur by firing a three-under par 67, tying for fourth-place … in 2024, won the District 21-5A title and finished fourth at the regional tournament to earn a spot in the Texas State Championship … had runner-up finishes at the Legends Junior Tour (LJT) Winter Classic, carding 71-69 to finish -4, as well as at the Greenwood Cup … finished second at the Southern Texas PGA’s Antigua Bluebonnet Classic … at the Taylor Gooch Foundation Junior Championship, he fired a second round 67, leading to a third-place finish.
Reggie Zhu – No. 5 position … averaging 72.00 strokes per round … seven rounds of par or better … is fifth in school history in career stroke average (73.26) and in average vs. par (1.65) … tied for 12th-place at the Trinity Forest Invitational (10/7-9), where he fired a season-low 67 in the final round … tied for 13th at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic (9/29-30), where he helped the Owls to the team title.
PAIRINGS
Play begins at 8 a.m. CT with a shotgun start. The Owls will tee off from holes 8-10 and compete in groups with student-athletes from Iowa State and Nebraska. Due to possible inclement weather on Sunday, the teams will play as many holes as possible on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Following the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, the Owls will have off for the winter before opening the spring season at the Bentwater Intercollegiate, Feb. 9-10.
