K-State Tied for 10th After Two Rounds - Kansas State Official Athletic Site

K-State Tied for 10th After Two Rounds

TOLEDO, Ohio - The Kansas State men’s golf team got off to a slow start to begin the 2004-05 season. The Wildcats carded a 308 in the first round of the 54-hole Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational, but recovered in the second round and fired a 300 to finish the day in a tie for 10th with UAB at 608.

   “We improved eight shots between the first and second rounds, so we’ve made some progress, but it’s still a learning experience,” head coach Tim Norris said. “It’s not exactly the way we wanted to start, but it’s a good experience for our guys.”

   This is the third straight season that K-State has participated in Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational, which is staged at the historic par-71, 7,255-yard Inverness Club. The Wildcats finished third two seasons ago and placed second last year.

   The Wildcats brought a very young and inexperienced team to Toledo and it showed. Only Matt Van Cleave had ever played The Inverness before Friday and two of the five Wildcats were making their Division I debuts, while junior Jonathan James hadn’t played a competitive tournament since the 2002-03 season after opting to redshirt last year.

   “We didn’t play too bad considering our inexperience,” Norris said. “Four of our guys have never played the Inverness. Obviously, we’d like to come out of the gate and play two great rounds to get our fall season started, but we had some misses on the course and if you miss on this course it’s going to hurt you.

   Senior co-captain Matt Van Cleave led the way for the Wildcats as he carded a 74-75149 to finish the day in a tie for 19th. Junior co-captain Ben Kern fired the lowest round of the day by any Wildcat with a second-round 72, but finished the day tied for 27th with a 151.

   In his collegiate debut, freshman Clay Hodge fired a 76-76152 and is tied for 33rd. Junior Jonathan James carded a 79-77156 and is tied for 47th. Rounding out the lineup, junior college transfer (Dodge City CC) Tyler Cummins shot a 84-77161 in his first tournament as a Wildcat.

   Michigan State leads the 13-team field at the Inverness after firing a 581 and holds a four-stroke advantage over Kentucky. Kentucky’s 2004 All-American, John Holmes, leads the field at 3-under 139. Michigan State’s Andrew Ruthkoski trails Holmes by two strokes.

   The Wildcats will conclude play at the Inverness Intercollegiate Saturday. For complete results, please visit Kansas State’s website at www.kstatesports.com.

Men’s Collegiate Golf
Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational
Toledo, Ohio
The Inverness
Par:71; Yardage: 7,255

Team Scores: 1. Michigan State, 294-287581; T2.Kentucky,296-289585;
T2.Kent State, 294-291585; 4.Georgia Southern, 304-289593; 5.Notre
Dame, 294-300594; 6.Central Florida, 303-292595; 7.Illinois,
296-303599; 8.Toledo, 307-293600; 9. Augusta State, 305-301606;
T10.Alabama-Birmingham, 304-304608; T10. Kansas State, 308-300608;
12. Northwestern, 311-303614; 13. Eastern Michigan, 319-302621.

Top Individuals: 1.John Holmes, (Kentucky) 74-65139 (-3); 2. Andrew
Ruthkoski, (Michigan State) 70-71141 (-1); 3. Peter Laws, (Kent State)
71-71142 (E); T4. Mark Blakefield, (Kentucky) 73-71144 (+2); T4. Eric
Deutsch, (Notre Dame) 69-75144 (+2).

Wildcat Individuals: T19. Matt Van Cleave, 74-75149 (+7); T27. Ben
Kern, 79-72151 (+9); T33. Clay Hodge, 76-76152 (+10); T47. Jonathan
James, 79-77156 (+14); T58. Tyler Cummins, 84-77161 (+19).