Red Raiders Rise to No. 3 in Golfweek Ratings
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech is up to No. 3 in the Golfweek Team Rankings going into this weekend’s Big 12 Match Play Tournament at Houston Oaks in Hockley, Texas.
The scoring rating has the Red Raiders at 68.62 in the system with Georgia Tech at No. 1 with a 68.41 and Wake Forest at 68.45. Individually, Andy Lopez is ranked No. 11 in the Golfweek ratings (67.62) after beginning the season with a tournament win and a third-place finish. He is currently the top-ranked player in the Big 12. Tech currently 7-0 against top-25 opponents this season and 11-0 against teams in the top-50. Oklahoma is fourth in the ratings followed by North Carolina.
Texas Tech previously soared up the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll to No. 6 after opening the season by winning The Carmel Cup and the Iverness Intercollegiate to begin the 2019-20 season. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 18 in the preseason poll before earning a pair of first-place team titles and individual championships from senior Sandy Scott and junior Andy Lopez.
Scott shot 14-under-par for a one-stroke individual championship and the Red Raiders were at 16-under to complete a comeback for The Carmel Cup team title at the season-opening tournament at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Scott closed out the win by shooting 7-under in the final round without a bogey on Sept. 1. Texas Tech earned the Iverness Intercollegiate team title earlier this week after recording a final round of 12-under-par on Tuesday and Lopez securing a co-championship at 2-under-par at the 54-hole tournament at the Iverness Club. Lopez, who played the tournament as an individual and was coming off a third-place finish at The Carmel Cup, earned the first collegiate win of his career after shooting 73-68-70 – 211 with 12 birdies.
The Red Raiders now have two fall tournaments remaining on their schedule, first this weekend at the Big 12 Match Play in Houston from Oct. 11-13 and then the Tavistock Collegiate on Oct. 20-22 in Orlando, Florida.