Jayhawks Head to Prairie Dunes to Compete in the Big 12 Championship

April 19, 2007

LAWRENCE, KAN. –

The <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas men’s golf team will travel to Hutchinson, Kan. and Prairie Dunes Golf Club to compete in the 2007 Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship. The Jayhawks will try to build off an impressive regular season which included three team victories. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

The Jayhawks, who have been seeded number six in the tournament, will try to win its second Big 12 Championship. The Jayhawks first Big 12 Conference crown came at Prairie Dunes in 1999.

“We are really looking forward to competing in this event,” said head coach Ross Randall. “We are going with our eighth different lineup of the year and we decided to go with our latest qualifying results. We have had success at Prairie Dunes in the past and we are really looking forward to getting back there and playing the course.”

The Jayhawks will be led by senior Gary Woodland who will try to build off last year’s seventh place finish at the Big 12 Championship. Woodland has shined during his senior campaign recording three wins and five other top-10 finishes. He currently ranks number 24 among individuals in the country according to Golfstat.

Senior Tyler Docking will once again team with Woodland to create a dangerous one-two punch for the Jayhawks. Docking has turned in a solid senior season that has included six top-10 finishes. This will mark his fourth appearance in the Big 12 Championship with a career-best finish of 20th.

Senior Barrett Martens, junior Joey Mundy, and sophomore Walt Koelbel will all be making their first career appearances at the Big 12 Championship.

Martens has competed in four events during his senior season as a Jayhawk. He will attempt to build off his tied for 46th finish at his last event, the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. Martens recorded his season-low round during the Wyoming Cowboy Classic with a second-round 69.

Mundy competed in five events for the Jayhawks in the spring after not participating during the fall portion of the schedule. He turned an impressive 17th place finish at the Western Intercollegiate and ranks third on the team in scoring average.

Koelbel will be competing in his sixth event of the season at the Big 12 Championship. The Cherry Hills Village, Colo. native, recorded his top finish of the year at the CU-Stevinson Ranch Invitational when he tied for 35th.

The tournament will consist of 36 holes being completed on Monday, April 23rd, followed by the final round being conducted on Tuesday, April 24th. Check back to kuathletics.com for complete results.