Nov. 16, 2004
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Two Tennessee junior golf standouts, Peter Malnati (Dandridge, Tenn.) and Ryne Fisher (Clarksville, Tenn.), have signed National Letters of Intent to enroll at the University of Missouri and play golf, Head Coach Mark Leroux announced today. The pair of players are Leroux's first two recruits to come to Mizzou.
Malnati's 2004 season is yet to be completed, as he will compete next week in the season-ending American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Polo Golf Junior Classic in Sea Island, Ga. Malnati is one of 108 boys, along with 70 girls, that will compete for the most prestigious junior golf title in the world. Two days of stroke play begin this Monday, Nov. 22, and three days of match play among the top 32 stroke-play qualifiers culminates in the championship matches next Friday, Nov. 26.
This Sunday, Malnati will be honored at the Rolex Junior All-America Banquet, held in conjunction with the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic. There he will be recognized as a member of the 2004 HP Scholastic Junior All-America Team. Only 10 boys and 10 girls nationwide earn this honor, which is based on grade-point average, golfing ability and writing skills.
Malnati is ranked 58th in the country by the Junior Golf Scoreboard. In 13 events in 2004, Malnati's average scoring differential is 1.04 strokes under par. He has won two junior tournaments this season: the Signal Mountain Junior Invitational in late June, which included a second-round 66; and the Craig Goodman Rudolph Memorial Junior Invitational in late July. He had seven other top-five finishes this summer, including a fourth-place showing at the Tennessee State High School AAA Championship last month. Malnati finished in the top six in all three of his PGA Junior Series tournaments this summer.
In 2003, Malnati burst onto the PGA Junior Series by winning his first tournament, the Callaway Golf PGA Junior Series in Winchester, Tenn. That win qualified him for the Westfield Junior PGA Championship, in which he finished 41st. This summer, he qualified for the 98th Southern Amateur Championship this summer, where he tied for 24th. Malnati also earned the 2001-02 Director's Award from the United States Junior Golf Tour (USJGT) for excellence in play and sportsmanship.
"Peter has been my No. 1 prospect for this fall for at least the last two years," Head Coach Mark Leroux said. "He has kind of an electric personality; he's very energetic and intelligent, which helps him both on and off the course. He is very confident in his golfing ability. I'm counting on him and Ryne to elevate our program."
Fisher is ranked 144th in the country according to the Junior Golf Scoreboard, and has an average scoring differential of 0.12 strokes under par. He has five top-five finishes in his 14 tournaments this season, including a runner-up showing at the Westfield PGA Junior Section Championship in Tennessee in late June. He also was third behind Malnati at the Craig Goodman Rudolph Memorial Junior Invitational in late July, and parlayed a first-round 64 - which tied the second-lowest round in the entire AJGA season - into a fourth-place finish at the AJGA Burgett H. Mooney, Jr. Rome Classic in Georgia. Fisher was 17th at the 2003 Westfield Junior PGA Championship, and is in the USJGT record books for the third-best 18-hole score after firing a 67 during a tournament in March of 2003.
Fisher's bloodlines are rich in sporting heritage. His grandfather, Dr. George Fisher, is a former director of athletics at Austin Peay, and his father, Mickey, was a teammate of James "Fly" Williams on the Govs' 1973 Sweet Sixteen basketball team.
"Ryne Fisher comes from the second-most competitive family I've met [behind only the Head family, which includes legendary Tennesee women's basketball coach Pat Summit]," Leroux said. "When Ryne announced his commitment to Missouri, I had a colleague tell me, 'With his bloodlines, you know you are not only getting a heart of a champion, but character as well.' That says everything you need to know."