Sept. 30, 2003

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Mizzou men's golf team got the sweetest of bitter news on Tuesday: Rain canceled completion of the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate, making the second-round results from Monday official and giving the Tigers the team championship.

It's Mizzou's first invitational tournament win since the fall of 1999, when the Tigers took the title at the Kansas Invitational. Missouri also defeated Illinois in a Border War match two years ago.

The Tigers finished the second round at even-par 576, eight strokes ahead of Drake and 10 better than the host Wildcats.

The Tigers and the seven other schools began the final round under less-than-perfect conditions. As Head Coach Tim Robyn said, "The weather started pretty cold, windy, and rainy, and it got worse from there. It was brutal." Mizzou was able to get 14 holes in before play was halted.

Despite the cancellation of Tuesday's round, Robyn was obviously pleased with the team's results. "Everybody's upbeat and excited about our chances this year. I've said since the season started that this team's made up of hard-working guys with great attitudes. They just want to see how low they can shoot. To see results this quickly, though, is great. It's exciting for us."

Senior David Jenkins (Springfield, Mo. / Glendale HS / Southwest Missouri State) earned his second-straight top-10 finish, finishing just one stroke away from medallist honors following rounds of 70 and 71. He was one of four golfers to break par for the tournament; another was sophomore teammate Chris Mabry (Leawood, Kan. / Bishop Miege HS), who shot 72 and 71 to finish tied for third.

Freshman Beau Crawford (La Plata, Mo. / Kirksville HS) shined in his collegiate debut, finishing tied for fifth - as a non-scoring individual - at even par following rounds of 70 and 74. Freshman John Kelly (St. Louis, Mo. / Christian Brothers College HS) also earned his first top-10 finish, as his 73 and 72 tied him for seventh at 1-over.

Senior Michael Radek (Chicago, Ill. / St. Ignatius HS) (77-72=149, 19th place) and sophomore Ben Scott (Lancashire, United Kingdom / St. Theodore's HS) (75-76=151, 22nd place) both made solid contributions toward the tournament title.

The Tigers will resume play next Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 6-7, when they host the Nestl? Purina Classic at the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club in St. Charles, Mo.