Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Positioned in the middle of the pack after day one of competition, the Kansas men’s golf team looked poised to make a run in the second and final day of action at the Big 12 Championship on Tuesday.
However, the course got the best of them. The Jayhawk golfers finished a combined 77 strokes over par, good for 10th place. Oklahoma State won the tournament.
Sophomore Walt Koelbel and his career-best round of 69 proved to be one of only a few highlights in the second day of the event. The performance allowed him to jump 19 spots on the leader board and finish in a tie for ninth overall.
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This isn’t the course for Gary. He can’t utilize his strength on this course the way he would like to.
-coach Ross Randall
His effort garnered him a place on the all-tournament team, a feat accomplished by 10 other Kansas golfers during the 11-year history of the Big 12 Tournament.
The sophomore’s outing was even more impressive considering the unforgiving qualities of the course. Not a single Big 12 golfer finished at par or better for the event.
“If you would have told me I would have made one bogie, all those pars and two birdies, I would have taken that in a heartbeat,” Koelbel said. “It felt awesome playing that good today. I’ll take that every time.”
Also braving the venue was senior Gary Woodland. His final-round 76 put him at a tie for 14th in the final standings and also notched him his second career top-20 finish at the Big 12 Championship.
While every golfer found the venue challenging, Coach Ross Randall noted that Woodland had a considerable disadvantage teeing off in Hutchinson.
“This isn’t the course for Gary,” Randall said. “He can’t utilize his strength on this course the way he would like to.”
Other notable Jayhawk finishes included senior Barrett Martens’ 40th-place finish and junior Joey Mundy’s 55th-place finish.
The Jayhawks will return to Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course for the NCAA Central Regionals. The site was also a venue for the Jayhawks back in the fall when they competed and finished fifth in the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate.
Kansan sportswriter Daniel Molina can be contacted at dmolina@kansan.com.
— Edited by Stacey Couch
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