April 30, 2002
Hutchinson, Kan. - Improving by an amazing 80 shots from last year, the Missouri men's golf team finished 5th at the 2002 Big 12 Championship, which wrapped up today at Prairie Dunes Golf & Country Club. Missouri recorded a three-round team score of 872, which was 80 shots better than the 952 recorded last year en route to a 9th-place finish at Prairie Dunes.
Head Coach Tim Robyn's squad enjoyed an historic performance in many regards, as the 5th-place finish marked the best showing for MU in a conference championship since a 3rd-place showing in 1988 in the Big Eight Championship. Mizzou's previous best finish in the Big 12 was an 8th-place showing in 1988, and the 287 team round on Tuesday set an MU record at Prairie Dunes, which has hosted the Big Eight and Big 12 championships 12 times now (1987 & 1992-2002). Mizzou's previous low team round at the course was a 292 in 1987. The Tigers' final score of 872 also established a school record at the course, breaking the old standard of 878 set during a 3rd-place finish in the 1987 Big Eight Championships.
Individually, sophomore Brandon Knaub became just the second Tiger to finish in the top-10 in the Big 12 Championships (and just the 2nd top-10 Tiger finisher at the conference level in the last 15 years), as the Seven Valleys, Pa. Native shot a two-over par 72 on Tuesday to finish tied for 8th with a three-round total of 213. His total tied for the lowest 72-hole score in MU conference championship history, as he tied Tim Mehl who finished 2nd in the 1972 Big Eight Championships with a 213 total. He improved by 31 strokes from last year, when he tied for 50th with a 244 total.
Senior Mark McBride (Lebanon, Mo.) finished tied for 13th overall, with a three-round total of 217. McBride opened the tournament on Monday with a one-under par 69, which was just one shot off the best single-round in school conference tournament history. McBride knocked 17 shots off his 2001 performance, when he tied for 26th place with a 234 total.
Freshman Ben Scott (Lancashire, England) and junior Chris Happ (Winnetka, Ill.) shot respective rounds of 74 and 72 on Tuesday, and ended tied for 29th overall with identical totals of 223. Junior Cory Ewert (Joplin, Mo.) improved by 10 strokes from Monday's second round 80, and shot an even-par 70 on Tuesday to finish tied for 42nd overall, at 228.
The strong showing likely wrapped up a bid for MU to the NCAA Central Regional, scheduled for May 16-18 in Little Rock, Ark. A bid would mark MU's first regional team appearance since 1995. Regional bids will be awarded on May 6.
TEAM STANDINGS Pl School 1st 2nd 3rd Tot 1 Texas 285 282 283 850 2 Oklahoma State 287 287 277 851 3 Oklahoma 283 274 296 853 4 Baylor 297 286 285 868 5 MISSOURI 293 292 287 872 6 Texas Tech 297 294 286 877 7 Kansas State 303 292 290 885 8 Colorado 296 294 296 886 9 Texas A&M 300 300 289 889 10 Kansas 301 300 294 895 11 Iowa State 295 297 304 896 12 Nebraska 312 295 302 909INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Pl Player (School) 1st 2nd 3rd Tot 1 Anders Hultman (OSU) 70 68 65 203 John Kidwell (OU) 64 69 70 203 3 Jason Hartwick (UT) 72 65 71 208 4 Cody Freeman (OU) 69 66 75 210 Hunter Mahan (OSU) 69 74 67 210 8 Brandon Knaub (MU) 70 71 72 213 13 Mark McBride (MU) 69 75 73 217 29 Ben Scott (MU) 77 72 74 223 29 Chris Happ (MU) 77 74 72 223 42 Cory Ewert (MU) 78 80 70 228