Dates: Oct. 11-12
Par: 71
Yardage: 6,585
Total Holes: 54
Format: 36 holes Monday beginning on the 10th tee and teeing off between 7:25-7:57 a.m. K-State is paired with Northwestern and Oregon for the first 36 holes. The final 18 holes will be played Tuesday beginning at 8:00 a.m.
The Field: (15) Kansas State, Cal-Berkley, Cal-Poly, Illinois, Long Beach, Nevada-Reno, Northwestern, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, Purdue, San Jose State, San Fransisco, Stanford, Washington.

The Alister MacKenzie Lineup
Name              Yr-Exp    Rnds      Avg
Ben Kern          Jr-2L      9       73.44
Matt Van Cleave   Sr-2L      9       72.66
Tyler Cummins     Jr-TR      9       74.77
Jonathan James    Jr-2L      6       77.33
Nick Schumacher   Sr-1L     N/A       N/A

Setting the Scene
The Kansas State men’s golf team travels west to Fairfax, Calif. Oct. 11-12 to battle a strong field at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational. This will be K-State’s fourth tournament of the fall season.

The Field
The 15-team field is stocked with two top-50 programs. No. 25 Purdue is the highest ranked team, while Purdue is ranked No. 37. The field also includes the tournament host and 2004 NCAA Team Champions the California Bears. The Wildcats have only faced two of the squads from the field. K-State defeated Northwestern by two strokes at the Inverness, while falling to Illinois at the Inverness by seven strokes.

The Lineup
The Wildcats will take a veteran lineup when they travel to California. For the first time this season, the Wildcats will use a lineup comprised of only upperclassmen. Senior Matt Van Cleave and juniors Ben Kern and Tyler Cummins remain constants in the lineup, while junior Jonathan James makes his return to the lineup after participating in the Inverness Intercollegiate and KU Invitational, but missing the Mason Rudolph Championship. Senior Nick Schumacher will be making his first appearance since Oct. 17, 2002 at the Oklahoma Dual. Van Cleave will be making his 22nd straight start and 27th of his career. Ben Kern is second on the team in career starts and will be making his 15th start at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational.

Cummins on Strong
After a dismal start to his K-State career at Inverness Intercollegiate, junior college transfer Tyler Cummins has reeled off two impressive finishes. Cummins tied for 62nd at the Inverness and has since tied for seventh at the Kansas Invitational and tied for 21st at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Cummins carded opening rounds of 66-72 (-4) and was tied for fourth through the first 36 holes before carding a final round 76.

Not on Par
Coming into the season, the Wildcats had played their best golf on par-71 courses. Since the beginning of the 2001-02 season through the end of last year, the Wildcats had played on 10 par-71 courses and had an average finish of 4.3. This year, the Wildcats have struggled at both of the tournaments played on par-71s. K-State finished in ninth at the Inverness Intercollegiate and tied for 11th at the Mason Rudolph. The Alister MacKenzie Invitational will also be played on the par-71 Meadow Club.

Poll Watching
GolfStat released its first poll of the year on Oct. 3 and the Wildcats are No. 55. Golfweek hasn’t released a poll since Sept. 22, where the Wildcats are ranked No. 39.

The Meadow Club
The private 18-hole Meadow Club was opened in 1927 and is located in Fairfax, Calif. The course was fittingly designed by Alister MacKenzie. The Meadow Club is located about 25 miles north of San Francisco.

California Love
The Alister MacKenzie Invitational will be the first of a record three events the Wildcats will play in California this year . The Wildcats will close out the fall with two consecutive tournaments in California. Following the Alister MacKenzie, K-State will conclude the fall slate Oct. 22-24 in Palo Alto, Calif. at The Nelson. In the spring, the Wildcats will make their seventh straight appearance at the Stevinson Ranch Invitational.

Last Time Out
The Wildcats couldn’t card enough low scores to stay in contention at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville, Tenn. K-State finished tied Virginia for eleventh with a 54-hole score of 288-288-293869. It was the Wildcats’ worst finish since coming in 12th at the Boilermaker Invitational last April. Juniors Tyler Cummins and Ben Kern tied for 21st to pace the Wildcats. Senior Matt Van Cleave suffered his worst finish of the season tying for 52nd. Freshmen Kyle Yonke and Clay Hodge finished 61st and 65th, respectively.