Nov. 7, 2002

Experience plus young talent was the equation for success for the Kansas State men's golf team this fall, as the Wildcats concluded their fall season ranked No. 34 in the Sagarin rakings.

In its six fall tournaments, K-State finished third three times and claimed a victory over OU in the Kansas State/Oklahoma Shootout at Colbert Hills. The 'Cats team stroke average of 291.5 is an nearly a five-stroke improvement over last fall's average of 296.3.

"There wasn't any one particular thing that we struggled with this fall, so this winter we just hope the weather stays warm and we're able to get better in order to consistently post some low scores this spring," head coach Tim Norris said. "We had contributions from everyone this fall, and I think that shows that this program is truly getting better."

After completing a successful summer that included advancing to the second round the U.S. Amateur Championship, junior co-captain Aaron Watkins took on a leadership role for the Wildcats. Watkins earned his first NCAA individual title at the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate, winning the tournament by seven stokes at 1-under-par 215.

The Mesa, Ariz. native put his name in the record book another time, tying his own school record 210 at the Purina Classic. For his efforts Watkins finished the fall ranked No. 26 in the country in the Sagarin rankings.

Juniors Greg Douglas and A.J. Elgert provided leadership roles as well. Douglas led the team to a third place finish at the highly competitive Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational as he placed, as he earned seventh place individually. Elgert paced the Wildcats at Baylor Invitational, as Elgert tied for 13th to lead the team to a sixth place finish in the sixteen team field.

K-State will fire up its spring season on February 10-11, when it travels to Katy, Texas, to compete in the Rice Intercollegiate, as the Wildcats continue the on the track to their goal of competing in the NCAA Central Regional, hosted by Kansas State on May 15-17 at Colbert Hills Golf Course.