Sept. 10, 2003

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Missouri senior golfer David Jenkins has been named Amateur Player of the Year by the Missouri Golf Association, MGA Executive Director Bill Wells announced on Monday.

Jenkins edged out Ben Godwin for Player of the Year honors after finishing third in the final event of the season, the Bill and Payne Stewart Memorial. That gave him 2,130 points for the season, just 20 more than Godwin to produce the closest margin in recent years.

"It has been a rewarding summer for me," said Jenkins. "I put a lot of time into my game during the past year but the results were slower in coming than I wanted, so this award is very satisfying. I love this game and can't wait for the college season to begin."

Jenkins owes his Player of the Year title to his consistent play this summer. David did not compete in the first two points events of the season - the Ozark Amateur and the Phil Cotton - and made his initial impact of the summer at the State Amateur. He was a quarterfinalist at the Amateur Championship and had a solid showing in the stroke play portion of the event. He then captured the MGA Stroke Play Championship at Norwood Hills, lost in a playoff to Skip Berkmeyer at the Jim Dawson and concluded the summer season with the third-place finish at the Stewart Memorial. He also captured the Titleist Amateur in St. Louis and the Millwood CC Club Championship, although these were not on the MGA's list of points events.

"We are all very proud of David," said Mizzou golf coach Tim Robyn. "David deserves this honor and has certainly made a commitment to be the best player in Missouri. He has played some solid golf this summer and he looks like a great player right now. His game has no weakness and he still has a lot of room to improve."

Jenkins and his Tiger teammates will kick off the 2003 college season when Mizzou heads to Toledo, Ohio, for the Inverness Intercollegiate on Sept. 19-20.