May 19, 2004
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Head Coach Bill Montigel's 10th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs begin play in the NCAA Central Regional on Thursday, May 20, when the team tees off beginning at 11:15 a.m. Third-seeded TCU is vying with 26 other teams for one of 10 NCAA Championship berths. The Central Regional takes place from May 20-22 at the Birck Boilermaker Kampen Course (7,259 yards; par 72) in West Lafayette, Ind.
Tourney Central
This is the 15th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance for the TCU Horned Frogs under head coach Bill Montigel. Last year, TCU placed 16th at the Central Regional in Manhattan, Kan. The team's three-round score of 877 was seven strokes shy of the 10th and final qualifying mark. This is the third straight year that the Frogs have been a top three seed at the Central Regional (No. 1 in 2002, No. 2 in 2003, No. 3 in 2004).
First Things First
TCU has advanced past the NCAA Regional to reach the NCAA Championships nine of the past 13 years. The team's most recent trip came in 2002 when the Frogs tied for 11th place at Ohio State's Scarlet Course. Former TCU All-American Adam Rubinson placed second individually, matching the best individual finish by a TCU golfer ever. Junior J.J. Killeen is the only current team member who played in that tournament.
Not Just Won and Done
TCU claimed its fourth straight conference title in April, winning the Conference USA championship by 12 strokes. With the victory, the men's golf team tied an all-sport school record, joining the men's tennis team (1994-97) as the only sports in TCU history to win four straight league titles. Since joining Conference USA in the 2002 spring season, the Horned Frogs have won each of the three crowns.
We've Been Kampen' Out Here Since April
TCU played Purdue University's Kampen Course just last month, finishing fourth out of 18 teams at the Boilermaker Invitational from April 10-11. Junior J.J. Killeen was the top Frog, placing tied for sixth with a three-round 213 (-6). Adam Meyer (T-11th) and David Schultz (T-14th) also recorded top-20s.
Rank and File
TCU has been ranked in the nation's top 10 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings all season. Except for one poll in April, the Horned Frogs have also been top 10 all year in the GCAA/Precept Coaches' Poll.
Line Us Up
TCU has had eight players play in tournaments this season, but has had the same five players (Adam Meyer, Stephen Polanski, J.J. Killeen, David Schultz and Colby Beckstrom) compose the lineup in each of the Horned Frogs' seven events this spring.
Meyered in Anything But a Slump
Senior Adam Meyer has enjoyed a standout season in 2003-04. He currently is ranked 21st in the nation individually according to the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings and has a 71.33 stroke average. Meyer was named the Conference USA Player of the Year and was the 2004 C-USA medalist. In addition, he was honored as the 2003-04 TCU Co-Male Athlete of the Year. In his last six events, Meyer has the following finishes: 1st, 6th, 9th, 9th, 11th and 15th.
J.J.'s Have Been OK at TCU
TCU junior J.J. Killeen has had an impressive first three seasons with the Horned Frogs, owning a 73.62 stroke average in 36 career tournaments. He has placed in the top 10 three times and has nine additional top-20 finishes. Last summer he became just the third TCU golfer (joining current PGA Tour player J.J. Henry and current Tight Lies Tour player Adam Rubinson) to reach the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur.
May the Schultz Be With You
A back injury forced TCU junior David Schultz to miss playing time in the fall, but he still managed to take third place at the All-America Classic in November. An honorable mention All-American last year, he has placed in the top 15 in each of his last two events, including a fourth-place finish at conference.
Where I Have Seen Him Before?
TCU sophomore Colby Beckstrom appeared on The Golf Channel's "College Central" on Wednesday, May 12. Beckstrom gave The Golf Channel a tour of the TCU campus as well as Fort Worth's Colonial Country Club, the current PGA Tour stop (May 20-23). Beckstrom finished the fall semester ranked sixth in the nation and earned his first collegiate tourney title in November, when he won The Prestige at PGA West.
What a Year For Po
TCU senior Stephen Polanski has enjoyed the best season of his career in 2003-04. The team's lone four-year letterwinner owns a pair of top-20 finishes, including a career-best 15th-place landing at the C-USA Championships. He also is engaged to be married in December.
