April 1, 2003
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The TCU men's golf team, ranked seventh in the most recent Precept Coaches Poll, took home sole possession of third place at the prestigious National Invitational Tournament on Tuesday. TCU finished nine strokes behind tournament host Arizona (870) and five in back of runner-up New Mexico (874). In the final round, the Horned Frogs posted a six-over 294 on an extremely tough scoring day in which none of the 14 teams broke par.
David Schultz, who had just two bogeys through the first 36 holes of the tournament, struggled on the final day, shooting a 10-over 82. After entering the day with a share of first place, the sophomore from Fargo slipped into 18th position with a three-round total of 220 (+4). Schultz, who had not had a round higher than 77 all season, had four bogeys and three double-bogeys on his card. Despite the tough afternoon, Schultz still managed to finish among the top 20 for the fifth time this season.
Junior Adam Meyer posted the Frogs' best round on Tuesday with a two-under 70. Meyer was minus-four with two holes to play, but bogeyed Nos. 17 and 18. His 54-hole sum of 221 earned him 19th place. Meanwhile, Colby Beckstrom (223) finished just out of the top 20, tying for 24th place individually. The freshman had a three-over 75 in the final round.
Senior Adam Rubinson tied for 33rd position with teammate J.J. Killeen. Both players had scores of 225 (+9) for the event, as Rubinson shot a 75 on the final day, while Killeen registered a 74. It was the lowest finish of the season for Rubinson, who had placed among the top 20 in eight of his previous nine tournaments this year.
The elite 15-team field consisted of 10 teams nationally-ranked in the current Precept top 25. The schools included: Alabama, No. 5 Arizona, No. 19 Arizona State, Houston, Kent State, No. 13 Minnesota, No. 18 New Mexico, No. 20 Northwestern, No. 23 Pepperdine, No. 7 TCU, No. 4 Texas, Tulsa, No. 8 UNLV, Southern California and No. 24 Washington. From the participating teams, seven players recently named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List, which is given to the outstanding male college golfer, competed.
"The hole locations were in really difficult spots today and there was a pretty good wind (20 miles per hour) too," TCU head coach
Bill Montigel said. "There were a lot of good teams at the tournament, and it was just flat out tough to score well today. I was happy with the way we played all tournament long. It was a good experience for us because we were able to play in the last group of the day today. Playing with that kind of pressure alongside such quality golfers from other schools will really help us down the stretch run of the season."
Team Results:
1. Arizona 294-278-298=870 (+6); 2. New Mexico 300-280-294=874 (+10); 3. TCU 294-291-294=879 (+15); 4. Texas 289-296-295=880 (+16); 5. Arizona State 293-297-293=883 (+19); T-6. Tulsa 296-291-297=884 (+20); T-6. Southern California 299-293-292=884 (+20); 8. UNLV 297-297-293=887 (+23); T-9. Minnesota 302-284-309=895 (+31); T-9. Washington 303-291-301=895 (+31); 11. Kent State 310-296-296=902 (+38); 12. Pepperdine 298-307-298=903 (+39); 13. Houston 304-305-296=905 (+41); 14. Alabama 307-302-306=915 (+51).
Individual Results:
18. David Schultz 70-68-82=220 (+4); 19. Adam Meyer 76-75-70=221 (+5); T-24. Colby Beckstrom 72-76-75=223 (+7); T-33. J.J. Killeen 77-74=74=225 (+9); T-33. Adam Rubinson 76-74-75=225 (+9).
