RUSTON ? Louisiana Tech will host the annual Squire Creek Invitational Monday and Tuesday at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant.

Head coach Jean Hall said this year?s field consists of 18 of the best teams in the nation and he expects some outstanding golf.

?We have a great field,? Hall said. ?We have seven teams who are ranked in the top 100 in the nation, led by Middle Tennessee who is No.8. They?ve played extremely well in some tough tournaments. Ole Miss is coming, and they won the Memphis Tournament last week. LSU has an extremely strong team. Sam Houston State won our event last year, and they return almost everyone.

?I don?t think that there is a weak team in the field. All of these teams have the ability to win if they play well. The course is in great shape. Squire Creek is one of the best courses in the country for a college event. It?s in perfect shape.?

Among the teams competing in the 18-team field is No. 8 Middle Tennessee State, No. 28 Texas Arlington, No. 37 LSU, No. 48 Ole Miss, No. 59 Nevada, No. 77 Southern Miss and No. 86 New Orleans.

The rest of the field includes UALR, Arkansas State, College of Charleston, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Tech, Nebraska, North Texas, Rice, and Sam Houston State.

Hall said in order for his team to compete for the team title, they must play better than in the previous three tournaments of the fall.

?We have to be a lot more consistent,? Hall said. ?We?ve been playing well in spots, but not consistently. The problem hasn?t been just one thing. At times we played well. We?ve had some really good practices since our last tournament (two weeks ago), and I?m very hopeful that we will be able to put it all together on our home course.?

Monday?s first round will start at 8 a.m. followed by the second round that afternoon. The tournament will conclude with Tuesday?s final round starting at 8:30 a.m.

Sam Houston State won last year?s rain-shortened Squire Creek Invitational while South Alabama?s Johnny Caldwell won the individual title.

Past Team Champions
2004 Texas Arlington
2005 Ole Miss
2006 Sam Houston State

Past Individual Champions
2004 Casey Russell, Louisiana-Monroe
2005 Zac Reeves, UTA
2006 Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama