Hopfinger, Koelbel Leads Jayhawks to Seventh Place After Day One at Big 12 Championship
April 25, 2008
LAWRENCE, KAN. –
Click Here for Complete First Day Results 
Brad Hopfinger and Walt Koelbel both placed in the top-20 among individuals to lead the Kansas Men’s golf team after two rounds of play during day one at the Big 12 Championship in Trinity, Texas. The team shot a first-day score of 598 at Whispering Pines Golf Club (par-72, 7470 yards) and is currently in seventh place and in first place among the North division schools of the conference.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
“This is a very challenging, yet fair golf course and we played really well today especially in the afternoon,” said head coach Kit Grove. “I am really proud of how the guys finished their rounds up today and it is a great sign for us for us to be the top North school after day one.”
Hopfinger shot a first-day score of 145, including a second round score of 70 to finish the day tied for 11th place. The Lake Forest, Ill., native notched his eighth round of under par of the year during round two.
“Brad really played a rock solid round of golf in round two,” said Grove. “He has two tough three-putts on some very difficult greens, but other than that he was very good.”
Koelbel shot a 146 during day one and is currently in 15th place. The ninth place finisher at last year’s Big 12 Championship birdied four of his last six holes on the day.
“Walt really finished his day strong and made a lot of birdies today,” said Grove.
Freshman Nate Barbee shot consecutive 76’s and is currently tied for 32nd place. Sophomore Patrick Roth birdied two of his last five holes on the day and is tied for 40th place with a first-day total of 155. Junior Zach Pederson is currently in 60th place with a first-day total of 166 strokes.
Oklahoma State leads the event by 15 strokes after the first day of play. Kevin Tway and Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State are co-leaders among the individuals with a first-day score of 140. Four of the top eight individuals hail from Oklahoma State.
The third round will be conducted Saturday and results can be tracked live at golfstat.com. Check back to kuathletics.com for a complete recap and results from round three immediately following the round.
Team Leaderboard
1. Oklahoma State (285-282–567)
2. Texas (288-294–582)
3. Texas A&M (299-284–583)
4. Texas Tech (302-282–584)
5. Oklahoma (295-297–592)
6. Baylor (298-296–594)
7. Kansas (303-295–598)
8. Nebraska (303-300–603)
9. Kansas State (297-307–604)
10. Iowa State (298-314–612)
11. Colorado (311-303–614)
12. Missouri (312-304–616)
Player Leaderboard
T1. Rickie Fowler, Oklahoma State (72-68–140)
T1. Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State (72-68–140)
T3. Charlie Holland, Texas (70-71–141)
T3. Tyler Rody, Oklahoma (70-71–141)
T3. Chris Ward, Texas Tech (72-69–141)
T11. Brad Hopfinger, Kansas (75-70–145)
15. Walt Koelbel, Kansas (74-72–146)
T32. Nate Barbee, Kansas (76-76–152)
T40. Patrick Roth, Kansas (78-77–155)
60. Zach Pederson, Kansas (81-85–166)
