Oct. 6, 2003
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Missouri senior Michael Radek (Chicago, Ill. / St. Ignatius HS) holds the individual lead, yet Kansas State has lapped the field in the team race after the first day of the 2003 Nestl? Purina Classic Monday at the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club.
The Wildcats put together a pair of excellent rounds, capped by a Classic-record 16-under-par 265 in the afternoon, to take a commanding 21-stroke lead over UT-San Antonio heading into Tuesday's final round. The nine teams and eight individuals will tee off in an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start.
The Tigers are in fourth at 4-over-par 572, four strokes behind third-place Miami (Ohio).
Radek posted rounds of 67 - which tied the morning low with freshman teammate Beau Crawford (La Plata, Mo. / Kirksville HS), who is competing as a non-scoring individual this week - and 68 to post a one-stroke lead over four golfers at 7-under 135. The 67 ties his career best, which came in last year's second round here at the Bluffs on the way to a second-place finish.
Among those chasing Radek in the second-place group are three Kansas State players, including Aaron Watkins, who tied the Bluffs collegiate course record with a 6-under 65 in the afternoon. He is the fifth collegian in the nine years of the Nestl? Purina Classic to shoot that low. He is joined at 136 by Iowa State's Tyler Swanson and teammates A.J. Elgert and Ben Kern.
Among Mizzou's other scoring players, senior David Jenkins (Springfield, Mo. / Glendale HS / Southwest Missouri State) is tied for 12th with five others at even-par 142 after carding an afternoon 67 to set a new career low; freshman John Kelly (St. Louis, Mo. / Christian Brothers College HS) is tied with two others at 145 in 22nd; sophomore Ben Scott (Lancashire, United Kingdom / St. Theodore's HS) is tied for 38th at 150; and sophomore Chris Mabry (Leawood, Kan. / Bishop Miege HS) is tied for 43rd just one stroke back.
"We didn't play our best today, and some other teams really came out and played well," Missouri Head Coach Tim Robyn said. "Overall, it was a solid performance. I wasn't aware at first that Mike Radek was in the lead, but he was our best player today. This is the second time that Beau Crawford has played well for us; he's got a bright future ahead of him if he works hard. The biggest surprise is that we didn't have a lot of low scores today. Without Mike, we're not in the position we are."
The tournament will conclude Tuesday with an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start.
NOTES: Although it wasn't technically his first nine holes, the 1-9 slots on David Jenkins' scorecard shows that he notched four birdies without a bogey in the second round, good for a front-nine 31 ... 2001 Nestl? Purina Classic medallist Wixson Huffstetler of Arkansas State is tied for 22nd at 3-over 145.