Wildcats Begin Fall Campaign at Inverness Intercollegiate
Sep 08, 2004 | Men's Golf
Inverness Intercollegiate Inv.
Inverness Club
Toledo, Ohio
Dates: Sept. 10-11
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,255
Total Holes: 54
Format: 36 holes Friday beginning with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. and
18 holes Saturday beginning with a 1 p.m. shotgun start.
The Field: (13) Kansas State, UAB, Augusta State, Central Florida,
Eastern Michigan, Georgia Southern, Illinois, Kent State, Kentucky,
Michigan State, Northwestern, Notre Dame Toledo.
The Inverness Intercollegiate Lineup
Name Yr-Exp Rnds Avg
*Matt Van Cleave Sr-2L 34 74.44
*Ben Kern Jr-2L 26 73.88
Jonathan James Jr-2L N/A N/A
Tyler Cummins Jr-TR N/A N/A
Clay Hodge Fr-HS N/A N/A
*Statistics from 2003-04 season
Setting the Scene
The 2004-05 Kansas State men’s golf team begins its quest for a third
straight NCAA Regional appearance Sept. 10-11 at the Inverness
Intercollegiate Invitational held at the par-71, 7,255-yard Inverness
Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Success at the Inverness
This will be the Wildcats third appearance in the Inverness
Intercollegiate in as many years. K-State has been successful its in
both of its appearances. Last season, K-State finished second (896) to
UCLA by 10 strokes. Two years ago K-State tied for third (889).
Historic Course
Over the years, the Inverness Club has played host to some of the most
premier events in all of golf. It recently hosted the 2003 U.S. Senior
Open. The club has also hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships
and one U.S. Amateur.
The Field
The field at the 2004 Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational is as
loaded as ever, with No. 6 Kentucky and five other programs receiving
votes in the preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll released by Golfworld. The
five programs receiving votes are: Augusta State, Georgia Southern,
Illinois, Central Florida and Toledo. The field also boasts two
All-Americans from a year ago in first-team selection John Holmes
(Kentucky) and third-team honoree Aron Price (Georgia Southern).
The Lineup
The Wildcats’ lineup at the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational is
comprised of senior Matt Van Cleave, juniors Ben Kern, Jonathan James
and Tyler Cummins and freshman Clay Hodge. Van Cleave and Kern were
stalwarts in the Wildcats’ lineup last season, while Jonathan James is
a two-year letterman who redshirted last season. James has participated
in seven events in his K-State career. Junior college transfer Tyler
Cummins and freshman Clay Hodge will be making their Wildcat debuts.
Van Cleave played in all 12 events last season, while Kern played in
nine. Van Cleave finished third on the team with a stroke average of
74.44 and was tied for the team lead with six top 10s and seven top
20s. Kern was second on the team with a stroke average of 73.88 and
finished amongst the Wildcats’ top two in seven of the nine events he
participated in.
Young Squad
The Wildcats lost five lettermen off of the 2003-04 squad that finished
fourth at the Big 12 Championships, the schools best finish since 1969.
The former Wildcats accounted for 66 percent of the rounds played last
season. To fill the void, K-State will rely heavily on senior Matt Van
Cleave (Maryville, Mo.) and junior Ben Kern (Tucson, Ariz.). After
redshirting last season, junior Jonathan James and senior Nick
Schumacher will bring much needed experience to the team. Rounding out
the list of returners is junior Jimmy Dietz, who competed in the Jim
Colbert Intercollegiate last fall.
The Newcomers
K-State will look for significant contributions from newcomers Tyler
Cummins (Dodge City CC), Greg Blackwell (Miami, Fla.), Clay Hodge
(Tyler, Texas) and Kyle Yonke (Lubbock, Texas). Cummins was a two-time
NJCAA All-American and has more experience than any of the newcomers.
Summer of Success
Junior Ben Kern had another outstanding summer for the Wildcats. The
Tucson, Ariz., native won the Arizona Amateur for the first time after
finishing second a year ago. Newcomer Tyler Cummins (Olathe, Kan.)
found success at the international level where he tied for third at the
World University Games held in Korat, Thailand. Cummins was the top
finisher on the U.S. team, which finished third. Former Wildcat A.J.
Elgert parlayed his top-30 finish at the NCAA Championships into an
impressive summer. The Lincoln, Neb. native won the Nebraska Amateur
for the second time in his career. Elgert also qualified for the 2004
U.S. Amateur. It marked the third consecutive year in which a Wildcat
qualified for the U.S. Amateur. Former Wildcat Aaron Watkins qualified
in 2002 and 2003.
