COLUMBIA, Mo. – Columbia native and Rock Bridge High School alum Ross Steelman has enrolled in his first semester at Mizzou and is eligible to play for Mizzou Men's Golf this spring. The Columbia phenom and Tiger signee is looking to add depth to head coach Mark Leroux's strong seven-man roster.
Prior to joining the Tigers, Steelman was ranked No. 48 in the national 2019 Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings. Over the summer, Steelman secured two AJGA runner-up finishes at the AJGA Lockton Kansas City Junior and the AJGA Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Championship shooting 6-under par (210) at both events.
In his high school career, he captured the individual 2018 Missouri Class 4 state championship with an 8-under par 136 for the tournament. The performance also led Rock Bridge to a team state title. Steelman has been a consistent standout in Missouri, finishing fifth in the state as a sophomore and 10th as a freshman.
Additionally, the Mizzou freshman won the Missouri Junior Match Play Championship at Mizzou's AL Gustin Golf Course with an impressive 10-under 62.
Steelman joins a talented roster with sophomore Jamie Stewart (Renfrewshire, Scotland) who took charge for the Tigers, completing a standout fall semester averaging a 70.5 per round with three top-10 finishes and 11 out of 15 rounds under par. Junior Rory Franssen (Inverness, Scotland) also concluded a strong fall season averaging a score of 72.4 and added two top-10 finishes to his collegiate career. Steelman's fellow Columbia, Mo. native Matt Echelmeier was a consistent player in the team's lineup with a top-3 individual finish and an average score of 72.8 in the fall.
As a team, the Tigers concluded their fall season with a first-place finish and two top-three finishes. In their final tournament of 2018, the Black & Gold fired its lowest team tournament total of the season with a 26-under par (838) and are looking to continue that momentum in the spring. Mizzou will tee it up for its first event of the spring at the Suntrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., on February 16.
For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Golf, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@MizzouMensGolf).