Men's Golf Team Places Second at Abbreviated Badger Invitational

Men's Golf Team Places Second at Abbreviated Badger Invitational

VERONA, Wis. - The Kansas State men's golf team kicked off its 2003-04 campaign with a second-place finish at the soggy Badger Invitational held at the par-72 6,888-yard Olympic Ridge Golf Course Sunday. The Wildcats carded a final round 294 to put them into second-place with a final team score of 588, justthree strokes back of UNC-Wilmington, which fired a final round 290 to give them final team score of 585.

The tournament, which was originally scheduled for 54 holes, was cut to 36 after rain suspended play the first two days. K-State finished its partially completed final round Sunday afternoon, despite the lingering rain in the area.

'I'm proud of the guys and the way they finished up,' head coach Tim Norris said. 'A second-place finish at the first tournament of the year is definitely a positive. It's a good start for us. We're still not there yet, but it's a pretty good start to the year.'

Senior co-captain Aaron Watkins led the way for the Wildcats throughout the tournament, carding a 70-73143 to tie for second. Joining Watkins in the top 5 was sophomore Josh Persons, who shot 72-72144 to tie for fourth.

Senior Matt Van Cleave posted a 75-74149 to finish in a tie for ninth, five positions higher than where he was after round one.

The Wildcats return to action at the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational, Sept. 19-20 in Toledo, Ohio. For complete results of the Badger Invitational please visit Kansas State's website at www.kstatesports.com.

Men's Collegiate Golf

Badger Invitational

Olympic Ridge Golf Course

Verona, Wis.

Par: 72; Yardage: 6,888

Final Team Scores

1. UNC-Wilmington 585. 2. Kansas State 588 . 3. Michigan State 590. 4. Purdue 591. 5. Lamar 598. T6. Wisconsin 605. T6. West Florida 605. 8. Arkansas-Little Rock 611. 9. Iowa 616.

Top Individuals

1. Craig Revell, Michigan State, 70-70140. T2. Aaron Watkins, Kansas State, 70-73143. T2. Derek Brown, UNC-Wilmington, 73-73143. T4. Shiv Kapur, Purdue, 69-75144. T4. Josh Persons, Kansas State, 72-72144.

Wildcat Individuals

T2. Aaron Watkins 70-73143. T4. Josh Persons 72-72144. T9. Matt Van Cleave 75-74149. T25. A.J. Elgert 77-75152. T28. Greg Douglas 78-75153.