Men's Golf Makes Return Trip to Carolina
Mar 08, 2006 | Men's Golf
GENERAL JIM HACKLER INVITATIONAL
Sunday-Monday, March 12-13, 2006
TPC at Myrtle Beach
Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Par 72/6,950 yards
Hosted by Coastal Carolina University
Participating Teams (16): Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, East Tennessee State, Florida State, Illinois, Louisville, Kansas State, Michigan State, North Florida, Notre Dame, Pepperdine, Texas Tech, Toledo, UNC-Wilmington, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
MANHATTAN, Kan - The Kansas State men’s golf team heads to the shores of the Atlantic for the second-straight tournament, this time to Murrells Inlet, S.C., to participate in the General Jim Hackler Invitational March 12-13. K-State will try to continue the success they had at last year’s tourmanet when the Wildcats finished fourth. Host school Coastal Carolina and East Tennessee State’s Rhys Davies look to defend their team and individual titles from 2005. The 16-team field features eight teams in the top 50 of the Sagarin/Golfweek rankings. Live stats will be available by logging on to www.golfstat.com. Results will be posted on www.k-statesports.com as soon as play is concluded both days.
THE COURSE
The par 72, 6,950-yard TPC at Myrtle Beach plays host to the Hackler Invitational. Taking players through the wetlands of South Carolina and featuring picturesque holes, the TPC was built just seven years ago, making it one of the youngest golf courses in the Mytrle Beach area. The Myrtle Beach Golf Course Owners Association named the TPC the 2005 Myrtle Beach area golf course of the year. For more information on the TPC at Myrtle Beach, please visit http://www.tpc.com/daily/myrtle_beach.
HACKLER INVITATIONAL REWIND
The 2006 edition of the Hackler Invitational marks the third-straight year K-State will participate in the event. In 2005, the Wildcats looked as though they were on their way to a top-three finish as they carded first and second round scores of 295 and 296, respectively. A third-round slump of 309 placed the Wildcats fourth. Matt Van Cleave led K-State with a two-over 218, thanks in part to a second-round score of five-under 67. Nick Shumacher also placed in the top 20, tying for 14th after a nine-over 225 performance. In 2004, the ’Cats tied for seventh at 32-over 896. A.J. Elgert tied for seventh himself by carding a 220 (+4).
LAST TIME OUT: WEXFORD INTERCOLLEGIATE
Hilton Head, S.C. - The Kansas State men's golf team battled back during the third round of the inaugural Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate to tie for seventh. Following first and second round scores of 310 and 312, respectively, K-State shot a 301 in round three to finish at 59-over 923 in a tournament which featured high team scores. South Carolina-Aiken won the tournament by carding a 36-over 900. K-State's final round of 301 tied for the second-best third round score of the tournament. Korey Mahoney of Eastern Michigan won the individual title by firing a one-under 215. Ben Kern led the Wildcats for the fourth tournament this season as he shot a 14-over 230 to tie for 20th.
TOUGH COMPETITION AWAITS ’CATS
K-State will face their toughest challenge to-date when the tee off Sunday in Murrells Inlet. According to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings released March 2, the Wildcats are a respectable 86th. However, of the other 15 teams in the field, K-State is ranked higher than only one team (UNC-Wilmington). Eight of those teams are in the Top 50. Two of the teams are ranked in the GCAA Top 25 Poll (Texas Tech 17, East Tennessee State 22) released March 2. Futhermore, there are seven players participating in the Hackler Invitational that are ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 50 for their indivdual play. The highest rated player heading into the tournament is Rhys Davies of East Tennessee State, ranked fourth in the country. Teammate Gareth Shaw is ranked 40th. Texas Tech also has two indivduals in the top 50 as Oscar Floren is 14th and Andrew Dresser is 45th.
ROOKIE SENSATION(S)
True-freshmen starters have been somewhat of a rarity during the Tim Norris era. Only four true freshmen have participated in the first seven events of the season under Norris’ watch. After the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate, true freshman Robert Streb joined that list. However, Streb climbed to the top of that list in stroke average over the seven tournaments. Streb’s stroke average of 73.86 ranks as the best freshman stroke average in the Norris era through the first seven tournaments, over 1.5 strokes-per-round better than Josh Persons, No. 2 on the list. Another freshman, Joe Kinney, would rank second on the list, however he has only participated in five of the seven events this season.
RECAPPING THE FALL
K-State got off to a good start to the fall season, placing eighth out of 17 teams at the Cleveland State Invitational on Sept. 12-13 after a 31-over 883 performance. Senior Ben Kern carded the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history by firing an eight-under 205 to place second. His second-place finish tied for his best career finish. Two weeks later, the Wildcats shaved an impressive 31 strokes off their score, carding even par 852 at the Wolverine Intercollegiate to finish fourth. The next week, K-State matched its placing from the Wolverine Intercollegiate, tying for fourth at the Memphis Intercollegiate. K-State hit a bump in the road out west at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, its third tournament in as many weeks. The team looked as if they were on their way to one of the lowest 54-hole scores in school history after firing a 280 and 283 in the first two rounds. A third-round score of 302 dropped the Wildcats to a season-low 12th-place finish. After a week off, Norris’ bunch came out firing at the Barona Collegiate Cup, carding a 15-under 849, the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history. However, the Wildcats could only muster a tie for 10th, largely due to the tough competition, including tournament champion and top-10 team Brigham Young. Kern finished first on the team in stroke average at 71.40, exactly one stroke-per-round better than what he did last fall. Senior Tyler Cummins was probably the most consistent golfers as he placed as either the first or second Wildcat in four of the five tournaments.
K-STATE INKS FOUR FOR 2006-07 SEASON
Head men’s golf coach Tim Norris announced the signing of four high school golfers for the 2006-07 season. Joe Ida, Ross Geubelle (pronounced GOO-bell), Brian Larson and Jason Schulte (SHUL-tee) all have signed national letters of intent (NLI) to join the Wildcat golf program. “These guys are a great fit for our program,” Norris said. “They came in and were really impressed with the facilities and the opportunity to further their game. All of them have their best golf in front of them. They have a strong work ethic and basic fundamentals of the game, and we will try to supply the rest.” Three out of the four kids are local are either from Kansas or the Kansas City area (Ida: Fort Scott; Geubelle: Lakin; Schulte: Kansas City, Mo.), with the lone out-of-stater being Larson from Rochester, Minn. All four players will end their high school careers this coming spring before heading to K-State in the fall of 2006 as true freshmen.
KINNEY HONORED BY AJGA
Kansas State freshman golfer Joe Kinney earned honorable mention honors to the Rolex Junior All-American team, the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) announced on Oct. 25. Kinney, of Antioch, Ill., capped off a successful junior career this past summer as he captured a victory at the 2005 Future Legends in Wales, Wis. He also registered a second-place finish at the Midwest Juniors Players Championship in Huntley, Ill. Throughout his four-year career on the junior circut, Kinney cracked the top-15 in seven tournaments. The 135 junior golfers who received honors from the AGJA were recognized Nov. 20 during the Rolex Junior All-American Awards Banquet in Jekyll Island, Ga.
K-State's Hackler Invitational Lineup
Stroke
Name Year Hometown Rounds Avg.
Ben Kern Sr. Tucson, Ariz. 18 72.28
Joe Kinney Fr. Antioch, Ill. 15 75.60
Tyler Cummins Sr. Olathe, Kan. 21 74.05
Robert Streb Fr. Edmond, Okla. 21 73.86
Jonathan James Sr. Keller, Texas 6 74.50
