May. 1, 2005

TRINITY, Texas - The Missouri men's golf team finished an historic weekend Sunday at the Big 12 Conference Championships, placing third to post the school's best-ever finish in the nine years of the league. It is also the team's best finish in a conference championship overall since placing third at the 1988 Big Eight Conference Championships.

The Tigers earned their spot by posting three consecutive sub-300 team rounds for just the second time since 1987; the other time occurred in 2002 when Mizzou finished fifth at the Big 12 Championships for their best previous finish. Sunday's round of 5-over 293 was the team's best of the weekend, and put Mizzou at 21-over 885, 17 strokes behind champion Oklahoma State, and eight back of Oklahoma. The MU golfers also earned three points for the Tigers in the annual Border Showdown standings, presented by the Midwest Ford Dealers, for finishing 25 strokes ahead of sixth-place Kansas.

The good news continued individually, as both junior Ben Scott (Lancashire, United Kingdom / St. Theodore's HS) and sophomore Shawn Jasper (Marthasville, Mo. / Francis Howell HS / Newman Univ.) earned All-Big 12 Tournament honors by posting top-10 finishes for the tournament. Both men had rounds of 2-over-par 74 on the 7,330-yard Jack Nicklaus design at Whispering Pines Golf Club, putting Scott into a tie for fifth place, and Jasper in sole possession of seventh. It is the first time the Missouri men have had two golfers in the top 10 at a conference championships since the 1984 squad - led by current volunteer assistant Stan Utley - that won the Big Eight title.

At first, first-year Head Coach Mark Leroux was dismayed at being unable to pick up the school's first Big 12 title in any sport since 1997, saying, "We came up short. They played well, but we didn't play quite well enough to win. This is a hard course, but they played well and I'm proud of their effort."

"I'd head someone say this weekend that we were playing out of our mind. Well, whether we were or not, this is a great time to do it. Good teams step it up when it counts, so I'm really proud of these guys. I'm thrilled for their performance for the year. They decided to stick with it and play through, and they'll be playing at the end."

"It was nice to come into the last round into the hunt with a chance to win. We came into this tournament seeded ninth, and these guys played like they wanted to be in the leader's group. On Friday we said were going to show Mizzou's for real, and I think we've done that this weekend."

Commenting on the solid play of Scott and Jasper, Leroux said, "They played pretty consistently and as we expected. They've played well all year long, time and time again, and when it counts, sure enough, they do it again."

Junior Chris Mabry (Leawood, Kan. / Bishop Miege HS) was one of just six players to break par on Sunday, carding a final-round 1-under 71 to vault into 14th place for the tournament. He was joined in the top 25 by sophomore Trent Twaddle (Maryville, Mo. / Maryville HS), who posted Mizzou's third 74 of the day to finish in a tie for 25th at 13-over 229. Twaddle also posted 39 pars on the weekend to lead the tournament field. Sophomore John Kelly (St. Louis, Mo. / Christian Brothers College HS) rounded out the Tiger quintet with an 80; he finished in a tie for 34th.

Upon learning that Twaddle had churned out so many pars, Leroux said, "That's pretty darn good, because at any moment on this course, you make a bad swing, and you can get a double- or triple-bogey. That kind of play is probably what kept us in the hunt."

Oklahoma sophomore Anthony Kim shot a final-round 68 to match the low round of the day and earn him medalist honors at 8-under 208 for the tournament. He won the individual title by six strokes over OSU's Alex Noren.

The Missouri men await official word of an expected invitation to the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships Central Regional, which will take place May 19-21, in South Bend, Ind. The 27-team field for that regional, one of three across the country, will be announced next Monday, May 9.

NOTES: Mabry led the field in Par-3 Scoring, going 2-under for the tournament; Scott was even to rank third ... Scott also ranked second in Par-5 Scoring at 5-under, while Jasper was third at 4-under ... Twaddle led the field in pars (39), while Scott had two fewer to rank third ... the Tigers had four players make the top 10 en route to the team title in 1984: Utley (second), Ben Wilson (fifth), and John Sherman and Tom LaBarbera (both T-eighth).

MIZZOU MEN'S GOLF
at the Ninth Big 12 Conference Championships - Trinity, Texas
Whispering Pines Golf Club - 7,330 yards / par 72

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

Pl. Team Par 1st 2nd 3rd Total
 1. Oklahoma State +4 285 296 287 868
 2. Oklahoma +13 290 298 289 877
 3. MISSOURI +21 295 297 293 885
 4. Texas +39 311 305 287 903
 5. Texas A&M +45 303 299 307 909
 6. Kansas +46 304 303 303 910
 7. Baylor +48 303 308 301 912
 8. Texas Tech +54 299 310 309 918
 9. Iowa State +57 302 318 301 921
10. Kansas State +61 308 306 311 925
11. Colorado +65 311 319 299 929
12. Nebraska +67 303 312 316 931

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
(top 10 plus other MU finishers)

 Pl. Player (TM) Par 1st 2nd 3rd Total
 1. Anthony Kim (OU) -8 69 71 68 208
 2. Alex Noren (OSU) -2 70 72 72 214
 3. Zack Robinson (OSU) -1 74 73 68 215
 4. Matt VanCleave (KSU) +1 70 71 76 217
 5. Ben Scott (MU) +2 71 73 74 218
 Justin Fraley (OU) +2 68 72 78 218
 7. Shawn Jasper (MU) +3 71 74 74 219 
 8. Chris Baker (ISU) +4 78 75 67 220
 Tyler Leon (OSU) +4 68 75 77 220
 Chase Thomas (BU) +4 71 75 74 220
 14. Chris Mabry (MU) +6 75 76 71 222 
T25. Trent Twaddle (MU) +13 78 77 74 229 
T34. John Kelly (MU) +16 78 74 80 232