Wildcats Defeat Sooners in Kansas State/Oklahoma Shootout
Oct 17, 2002 | Men's Golf
Oct. 17, 2002
MANHATTAN, Kan. - The No. 48 Kansas State men's golf team defeated the No. 19 Oklahoma Sooners by 32 strokes Tuesday in the Kansas State/Oklahoma Shootout at Colbert Hills Golf Course. The dual match was shortened to 27 holes after a morning frost delay caused the 8 a..m. start to be pushed back to 9:30. The matchup pitted eight Wildcats against eight Sooners, with the best six out of eight scores for each round counting toward the team score.
The Wildcats broke their season curse of weak first rounds, jumping to a 17-stroke lead over OU in the first 18 holes with a 454. The 'Cats never looked back, as they increased their lead 15 more strokes over the nine-hole second round to finish with a total of 668 to the Sooners' 700.
Kansas State head coach Tim Norris says the dual match was a good opportunity for his team to build confidence or see where it needs improvement against good competition.
"This course (Colbert Hills) is a great course for tournament golf," Norris said. "We were fortunate that Oklahoma would come up here, and they know they will be a lot more prepared when they hopefully come back here for the (NCAA) Regionals in May. We still have a lot of work to do on our way to the regionals but we took one small step toward that goal today."
Junior Aaron Watkins showed why he is currently ranked as the No. 27 player in the country as he claimed his second individual victory at Colbert Hills this season. Watkins fired rounds of 69-33 to finish at a sizzling 6-under-par 102 to lead the field by eight strokes with the only under-par total of the day. A.J. Elgert finished second behind Watkins, shooting rounds of 75-35 for a total of 2-over-par 110.
John Kidwell and Martin Flores lead the Oklahoma on the day, tying for third with totals of 4-over-par 112.
The Wildcats will travel to Waco, Texas, for their final tournament of the fall season on Oct. 28-29, as they compete in the Henry Griffitts/Baylor Intercollegiate at Bear Ridge Golf Club.
Team Scores: 1. Kansas State 668. 2. Oklahoma 700.
Top Individuals: 1. Aaron Watkins (K-State) 69-33=102. 2. A.J. Elgert (K-State) 75-35=110 T3. John Kidwell (Oklahoma) 72-40=112. T3. Martin Flores (Oklahoma) 76-36=112. T3. Josh Persons (K-State) 77-35=112.
Wildcat Individuals: 1. Aaron Watkins 69-33=102. 2. A.J. Elgert 75-35=110. T3. Josh Persons 77-35=112. 6. Greg Douglas 77-36=113. 7. Tim Moody 77-38=115. T9. Jimmy Dietz 80-37=117. 11. Jonathan James 79-39=118. 13. Nick Schumacher 84-40=124.
