Sept. 21, 1999
Lawrence, Kan. - The University of Missouri men?s golf team upset the nation?s number-one ranked Kansas Jayhawks on the way to winning the Kansas Invitational, which wrapped up today with the final 18 holes of play at Alvamar Golf Club.
Missouri won by seven strokes over the host Jayhawks, winning with a three-round total of 881, with Kansas second with a total of 888. In its last outing, Missouri had finished second, a full 35 strokes behind the same Kansas team.
The win is significant for Head Coach Tim Robyn?s squad, because Kansas entered the tournament ranked number one in the nation, according to last week?s Sagarin College Golf Team Ratings. Missouri was ranked 50th in the same power ranking.
?This is an outstanding accomplishment,? said Robyn, who is in his second year as the Tiger head coach. ?Our guys played tough and showed remarkable poise both days. I saw them getting more and more confident each round. That?s a big factor when you?re playing at someone?s home course,? he said.
Sophomore Cory Ewert (Joplin, Mo.) missed out on individual medalist honors by just one stroke, as he finished second to Kansas standout Ryan Vermeer. Vermeer nailed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the tournament. Missouri senior David Suggs (Chesterfield, Mo.) was just one shot back of Ewert, in third place. Freshman Shawn Fleming (Boca Raton, Fla.) was MU?s other top-20 finisher, coming in a tie for 13th place with a three-round total of 224.
The victory marks MU?s first title under Robyn, and is the school?s first since winning the Legends of Indiana Shootout in the spring of 1995. It is just the fourth tournament Missouri has won in the decade of the 1990?s. Mizzou has now won four Kansas Invitational titles, with the other coming in 1981, 1985 and 1986.