Jayhawks Head South to Compete in 2008 Big 12 Men's Golf Championship
April 23, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
The Kansas men’s golf team will travel to Trinity, Texas, April 25-27 to compete in the 2008 Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship. The Jayhawks will attempt to sustain their improvement in the spring season at Whispering Pines Golf Club (par-72, 7,249 yards) and build off their 10th place finish at last year’s event.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
“It will be a good test for us on a pretty hard golf course,” said head coach Kit Grove. “The weather should be pretty good all weekend, but the course has been lengthened since the last time we have seen it.”
The Jayhawks will utilize the same lineup they used at the regular season finale at the River Landing Intercollegiate. The team recorded their top finish of the season at the event finishing in eighth place.
Junior Walt Koelbel will try to match the success he had at the 2007 Big 12 Championship where he finished tied for ninth place, highlighted by his final-round 69. The finish is the best finish in Koelbel’s career.
He will be joined in the Jayhawks lineup by the dynamic freshman combination of Brad Hopfinger and Nate Barbee. The pair has led the Jayhawks in scoring during every spring event and combined for six top-20 finishes during the spring campaign.
Junior Zach Pederson will be competing in his second Big 12 Championship. The Spring Hill, Kan., native finished in 57th place at the 2006 Big 12 Championship as a freshman. Sophomore Patrick Roth will round out the Jayhawk lineup and will be competing in his first ever Big 12 Championship.
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas won the Big 12 Championship in 1999 and has placed in the top-five at the event on four different occasions. The top individual performance for the Jayhawks in Big 12 Championship History is Chris Thompson’s tied-for-second place finish at the 1999 Big 12 Championship.
The event will now be a 72-hole event played over three days. There will be 36 holes played on Friday, followed by single rounds on Saturday and Sunday. The Jayhawks are scheduled to tee off at 8 am CST on Friday.
The scoring of the event can be tracked live at golfstat.com. Check back to kuathletics.com after each round for a recap and complete results.
