Oct. 14, 1999

St. Charles, Mo. - The fifth annual Purina Classic wrapped up with the University of Kansas taking both team and individual honors. The Jayhawks came from behind to claim the team title, with a three-round team score of 852. That left KU atop a tight scoreboard, as the top five teams were separated by just six strokes. Louisiana-Lafayette was second, just three strokes back, while Colorado and California tied for third (857), and host Missouri stood fifth (858), with the school?s best-ever finish in the event.

Missouri led after the first round, while California took over the lead after two tours of the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club, located in St. Charles, Mo. But it was the Jayhawks, ranked 9th in the latest Sagarin Computer Rankings, who claimed the team title. Kansas was in 6th place after one round, and sat in second entering the final round, just three strokes back of Cal.

Individually, Ryan Vermeer of Kansas, with a three-round total of 207, won his second straight championship at the Missouri Bluffs, adding to the one he claimed in 1998. He is the first person to repeat as champion in the short history of the Purina Classic event. Vermeer claimed the title with a final-round 68 (three-under par), to edge out Seth Porter of Nebraska, who was one stroke back, at 208.

For Missouri, the fifth-place finish represented a school best at the Bluffs. Just last year, the Tigers finished 15th of 15 teams, and showed their marked improvement by storming out to the lead after one round of play. Individually, sophomore Cory Ewert (Joplin, Mo.) tied for 4th place with a 209 total ? just two strokes off the pace. He shot a final-round 68 (three-under par), despite his being sick all of last night due to the flu. Senior David Suggs (Chesterfield, Mo.) was one shot back of Ewert in a tie for 7th place. Suggs and Ewert were the tournament co-leaders after one round with identical scores of 66. The 66 represented a tournament low, along with Jay Morgan of Wake Forest, who duplicated the feat in today?s final round.

?It was a very competitive field,? said MU Head Coach Tim Robyn. ?We had an exciting finish, and our guys played hard right to the end and beat some good teams. I?m very pleased with the way we played,? he said.