2004 Big 12 Championship

Prairie Dunes Country Club

Hutchinson, Kan.

Dates: April 26-27

Par:  70

Yardage:  6,598

Total Holes:  54

Format:  36 holes Mon. and 18 holes Tue.

No. 5 K-State is paired with No. 4 Kansas and No. 6 Colorado and will tee off at 8 a.m. Monday on the 10th tee. Pairings for the second day will be based on standings after 36 holes.

The Field:  (12) Kansas State, Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech.

The Big 12 Championship Lineup

Name                            Yr-Exp          Rnds.          Avg.            

Aaron Watkins     Sr-3L    28       73.50

Ben Kern           So-1L   20       72.85

Tim Moody          Sr-1L   17       74.52

Matt Van Cleave   Jr-1L    28       73.96

A.J. Elgert       Sr-3L   25     74.64

Setting the Scene

The No. 35 Kansas State men’s golf team will begin postseason play at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., site of six of the previous seven Big 12 Championships. Last year the Big 12 Championship was held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., where K-State tied for sixth, its best finish in conference history. In the past five Big 12 Championships the Wildcats have either improved on or equaled their finish from the previous year.

Fifth in Coaches Poll

As voted on in a poll by Big 12 coaches to determine seedings for the Big 12 Championship, K-State is seeded fifth and is paired with No. 4 Kansas and No. 6 Colorado for the first day. With 119 votes, Oklahoma State is the favorite to win its fourth Big 12 Championship, followed by Texas (113 votes)  as the Longhorns are in pursuit of their third consecutive championship.   

2004 Big 12 Conference Men’s Golf Coaches Poll

1. Oklahoma State      119

2. Texas               113

3. Oklahoma             98

4. Kansas               89

5. Kansas State         73

6. Colorado             70

7. Texas Tech           58

8. Baylor               54

9. Texas A&M            51

10.Missouri             30

11.Iowa State           26

12.Nebraska             11 

Prairie Dunes

Prairie Dunes Country Club is hosting the seventh Big 12Men’s Golf Championship in the eight-year history of the conference. The par-70 links-style course is set to play at 6,598 yards. This is the longest setup Prairie Dunes has ever had for the Big 12 Championship. Prairie Dunes has played host to many other notable tournaments including the 2002 U.S. Women’s Open and the 1995 U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur. U.S. Senior Open will also make its debut at Prairie Dunes in 2006.

2003 Big 12 Championship

K-State garnered its best-ever finish in the Big 12 last season, finishing tied for sixth with Colorado. After 36 holes the Wildcats were in fourth place after carding rounds of 305 and 302, but fell into some trouble during the final 18 holes and slipped into sixth with a 320. Matt Van Cleave led the way for the Wildcats, as he tied for 16th with a 72-75-83230. Texas won its second straight Big 12 Championship, posting an 894 for a four-stroke victory over Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State’s Hunter Mahan ran away with medalist honors, and was the only individual to finish under par with a 2-under 208 to take the title by 13 strokes.    

2003 Big 12 Championship

Southern Hills CC - Tulsa, Okla

Par: 72; Yardage: 6,988

1. Texas   296      301      297      894

2. Oklahoma St.   303      294      301      898

3. Oklahoma       302      293      304      899    

4. Texas &M     312      299      307      918

5. Texas Tech     312      300      311      923

6. Kansas State   305      302      320      927

   Colorado       312      311      304      927

8. Kansas         316      304      309      929

9. Baylor         310      317      316      943

10.Missouri       318      306      320      944

11.Nebraska       311      314      320      945

12.Iowa State     312      319      317      948

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS

1. Hunter Mahan, OSU             73        67        68        208

2. Jason Hartwick, Texas         73        75        73        221

3. Chris Marshall, KU            76        73        74        223

   David Tasker, A&M             76        73        74        223     

   J.J. Wall, Texas             70        80        73        223

6. Martin Flores, OU             77        72        75        224

7. Blake Martin, OU              77        73        75        225

   Matthew Rosenfeld, Texas      74        74        77        225

9. Doug Manor, OU                73        76        77        226

10.Stephen Carroll, CU           76        81        70        227

Classroom Champions

The Wildcats had three student-athletes selected to the 2004 All-Big 12 Academic Team. Senior Tim Moody and Matt Van Cleave earned first-eam honors, while senior Greg Douglas garnered second-team honors. Douglas was tabbed as a first-team academic All-Big 12 last season.

Last Time Out

K-State finished 10th in the 18-team Kepler Intercollegiate played on Ohio State’s Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. K-State fired a 297-303-307907 in its second consecutive appearance in the event. Senior Aaron Watkins paced the Wildcats, finishing in 14th with a 72-75-77224 (+8). Xavier won the team title with a 886, while Kent State’s Ryan Yip won medalist honors by defeating Toledo’s Brad Heaven in a playoff.

The Lineup

K-State has used five different lineups over the course of the season and have experienced varying levels of success with each. For the second time this season the Wildcats will use a lineup comprised of A.J. Elgert, Ben Kern, Tim Moody, Matt Van Cleave and Aaron Watkins. K-State concluded the fall season at the Duke Classic with this lineup and finished in fifth in the 15-team field.

Douglas, Elgert, Persons, Van Cleave, Watkins

Date                Event            Score            Finish

9/12-13            Badger Inv.      294-294588 2nd/9

9/20-21            Inverness        299-303-294896     2nd/15

9/29-30            Jim Colbert      300-286586 3rd/8

Elgert, Kern, Persons, Van Cleave, Watkins

10/6-7  Purina   277-268-285830     1st/9

3/8-9    Jim Hackler      303-302-291896     T7th/19

3/29-30            Stevinson        286-281-294861     2nd/14

4/10-11            Boilermaker      300-289-300889     12/18

Elgert, Kern, Moody, Van Cleave, Watkins

10/19-20          Duke    294-290-298882     5th/15

Douglas, Elgert, Moody, Van Cleave, Watkins

2/16-17            Matlock          297-289-296882      5th/15

Kern, Moody, Persons, Van Cleave, Watkins

4/17-18            Kepler  297-303-307907      10th/18

The Field

Of the 12 conference members, nine are ranked in the Top 50 of most recent Golfweek/Sagarin poll. The Big 12 has two programs in the Top 10, as Oklahoma State is ranked No. 7 and Texas is No. 10. Kansas State checks in at No. 37, its lowest ranking of the year. The other ranked teams are No. 24 Kansas, No. 31 Colorado, No. 35 Texas Tech, No. 38 Baylor and No. 40 Texas A&M. K-State has a record of 10-5 against the Big 12 so far this season.

Head-To-Head With the Big 12

Colorado          1-1

Iowa State        2-0

Kansas 0-1

Missouri          4-1

Nebraska         1-0

Oklahoma        1-1

Oklahoma State    0-1

Texas Tech        1-0

Norris in the Big 12

Since head coach Tim Norris took the reins prior to the 1997-98 season, the Wildcats have made a steady climb up the Big 12 standings. In Norris’ first season, K-State finished last in the Big 12, but have since either equalled or improved with every season. The pinnacle of K-State’s finishes in the Big 12 came last season when K-State tied for sixth.

K-State in the Big 12

Year     Finish   Score              

1997    7th       917     

1998    12th     967     

1999    10th     910     

2000    10th     905     

2001    8th       941     

2002    7th       885     

2003    T6th     927

First Day Pairings

1st T