Schultz Accepts All-America Classic Invitation
10/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 22, 2003
EL PASO, Texas - TCU junior David Schultz is one of 29 of the nation's elite men's college golfers to accept an invitation to the 29th Annual Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic, set for Nov. 23-25 at the El Paso Country Club. Schultz, an honorable mention All-American in 2003, has an opportunity to become the second straight Horned Frog golfer to win the tournament title.
Last season, Schultz burst onto the TCU scene by winning two collegiate tournament titles, the Ridges Intercollegiate and the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. In addition, the native of Fargo, N.D., had two other finishes in the top 10. Schultz posted a 72.02 scoring average for the year and was a first-team All-Conference USA selection. He is the sixth TCU golfer ever to be selected to play in the All-America Classic. Former Horned Frog standout Adam Rubinson won the 2002 tournament title.
The 2003 field was extended to a record-high 29 golfers due to the 45 eligible All-Americans. The largest previous field was in 1983 and again in 1997, when 27 golfers were invited to the tournament. In all, nine players will be returning to the event, while 20 players, including Schultz, will be making their first trip to El Paso.
"I really feel like we have one of the strongest fields that we have had in some time," said Bob Kimble, tournament chairman. "It was a really difficult selection process because we had 45 eligible All-Americans to choose from this year."
"Our sponsor, Western Refining, really helped us out this year by allowing us to extend the field to 29 golfers," said Bernie Olivas, Sun Bowl Association Executive Director. "With an unusually high number of freshmen, sophomores and juniors earning All-America honors, we wanted to bring in as many deserving players as possible."
Throughout the years, many Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic competitors have gone on to pursue successful careers in the Professional Golfers' Association of America and on the PGA Tour. Some of the past champions include: Ricky Barnes (2000), Notah Begay (1994), David Duval (1991), Davis Love III (1984), Jerry Pate (1974) and Tiger Woods (1995).
Each university is awarded a $1,000 scholarship if a golfer from that school competes in the tournament. The tournament, hosted by the Sun Bowl Association, is played at the par-71, 6,781-yard El Paso Country Club.
The 2003 Western Refining All-America Classic Field:
Chris Baryla, Senior, UTEP
Dustin Bray, Senior, North Carolina
Alejandro Canizares, Sophomore, Arizona State
Steve Conway, Senior, UCLA
Andrew Dahl, Senior, Arkansas
David Denham, Junior, Georgia
Zach Doran, Senior, Ohio State
Judd Easterling, Junior, Wichita State
Matt Every, Sophomore, Florida
Jason Hartwick, Senior, Texas
Brad Heaven, Senior, Toledo
John Holmes, Junior, Kentucky
David Inglis, Senior, Tulsa
Eirik Johansen, Sophomore, South Carolina
Tom Johnson, Senior, Northwestern
Travis Johnson, Senior, UCLA
Brock Mackenzie, Senior, Washington
Gareth Maybin, Junior, South Alabama
Ryan Moore, Junior, UNLV
Chris Nallen, Senior, Arizona
Michael Putnam, Junior, Pepperdine
Chez Reavie, Senior, Arizona State
Matt Rosenfeld, Sophomore, Texas
David Schultz, Junior, TCU
Justin Smith, Senior, Minnesota
Chris Stroud, Senior, Lamar
Peter Tomasulo, Senior, California
Emmett Turner, Junior, Augusta State
James Vargas, Sophomore, Florida
