Oct. 5, 2001
Columbia, Mo. - For the seventh year in a row, some of the best collegiate golfers in the nation are coming to St. Louis, Mo.
The University of Missouri men's golf team and the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club will host the seventh annual Purina Classic, to be held Oct. 8-9. Play gets underway Monday with 36 holes of action, beginning with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday's final round begins at 8:15 a.m., as well. Practice rounds will be played Sunday, beginning at 11:00 a.m. There is no admission fee for the event, and all rounds are open to media and the public.
Becoming known as one of the premier fall collegiate tournaments, the Classic will feature a 15-team field, including five Big 12 Conference schools. Joining Missouri from the Big 12 will be Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska. Other schools involved include Arkansas State, Illinois, Illinois State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Michigan State, Mississippi State, North Carolina-Charlotte, Purdue, Rice and Tulsa.
Missouri could be considered a pre-tournament favorite, as Head Coach Tim Robyn's squad enters the tournament ranked 3rd in the country, according to the Oct. 1 Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. The host Tigers finished 2nd in their 2001 fall season opener to 2nd-ranked Lamar, and are looking for their first team title at the Purina Classic. Last year, Missouri finished 2nd to champion Baylor, falling just three strokes shy of the Bears, who charged from 3rd place to overtake Missouri in the final round. That marked MU's highest-ever finish at the tournament.
Other top-50 ranked teams in the field this year include Kansas State (#7), Illinois State (#8), Nebraska (#21), Baylor (#36), Purdue (#47) and Kansas (#48).
Missouri's top individual contender is senior Mark McBride (Lebanon, Mo.), who is the two-time reigning Missouri State Amateur Champion. McBride finished 2nd at last year's Purina Classic, just one stroke shy of champion Travis Hurst of Kansas.
Other Tiger contenders include sophomore Brandon Knaub, who is ranked 8th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings after opening the season with a 2nd-place finish at Nebraska. Junior Chris Happ is ranked 14th in the country after tying for 3rd at the same tournament. Sophomore Mike Radek did not play in the season opener, but is coming off a 5th-place finish last week at Kansas State.