Dates: Sept. 29-30

Par: 72

Yardage: 7,200

Total Holes: 54

Format: 36 holes Mon., 18 holes Tue.

The Field: (8) Kansas State, Arizona State, Drake, Iowa, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, SW Missouri State

Jim Colbert Intercollegiate Lineup

Name Yr-Exp Rnds. Avg.
Aaron Watkins Sr-3L 5 73.0
Matt Van Cleave Jr-1L 5 74.4
Josh Persons So-1L 5 74.6
Greg Douglas Sr-2L 5 76.8
A.J. Elgert Sr-3L 5 77.2

Individual competitors - TBA

The Friendly Confines The Kansas State men's golf team will host the fourth-annual Jim Colbert Intercollegiate at Colbert Hills Golf Course Sept. 19-20. K-State will attempt to pick up its first team title of the season, after posting back-to-back second-place finishes to open the year.

Home Success The Wildcats have had a great deal of success hosting the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate. The Cats have never failed to place in the top-3 in the short three year history of the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate, including a third-place finish last fall.

The Field The Wildcats will get a chance to measure themselves versus one of the top teams in the country, when Arizona State comes to town for the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate. Arizona State's sixth-place finish at the NCAA championships shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The Sun Devils have a tradition-rich program that has finished in the top-10 nine of the past 11 NCAA championships. Arizona State also features the 2003 NCAA individual champion Alejandro Canizares. The other teams that will participate in the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate are Drake, Iowa, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska and SW Missouri State.

Getting a Shot Playing at home means more opportunities. The Wildcats will use its regular five in seniors Aaron Watkins, Greg Douglas, A.J. Elgert, alongside junior Matt Van Cleave and sophomore Josh Persons. In addition to the top-5, the Cats will enter members of the team that will compete as individuals. This will give some Cats an opportunity to make a strong impression in hopes of traveling to future tournaments.

Last Time Out K-State has started its 2003 season on fire. After opening the season with a second-place finish at the Badger Invitational, the Wildcats were even more impressive at the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo, Ohio, where they placed second in a field that featured six teams from the 2003 NCAA championships. The Cats were led by senior co-captain Aaron Watkins and junior Matt Van Cleave. Watkins posted a two-under par 69 the final day to finish with a 76-77-69222, good for a fourth-place tie. The fourth-place finish was Watkins' second top-five finish in as many tournaments. Van Cleave fired a 77-73-73223 which earned him a spot for another top-10 finish, as he tied for eighth. As a team, every Wildcat finished among the top-50 golfers.

Home Course Advantage Since the opening of Colbert Hills Golf Course on May, 1 2000, the Wildcats have fared extremely well on its home turf. In the five regular season tournaments that have been hosted by the Cats, including one dual, K-State has finished no worse than third-place. The one exception comes by way of the NCAA Central Regional last spring, when the Cats finished 11th-place out of 27 teams.

In the Polls The Cats made an appearance in the first Golfweek/Sagarin poll of the season, released Sept. 21. The Wildcats are ranked No. 9 overall and trail fellow Colbert Intercollegiate participant Arizona State, which checks in at No. 5.