Men's Golf Team Takes First-Round Lead at NIT
3/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 27, 2005
TUCSON, Ariz. - For the second straight tournament the TCU men's golf team finished the first day of play atop the leaderboard, as the No. 12 Horned Frogs fired a 12-under-par 276 at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz. As a team, the Frogs used a trio of eagles on the afternoon to take a one-shot lead over fifth-ranked UNLV (277).
Senior J.J. Killeen (Lubbock, Texas) continued his standout campaign by firing a six-under 66 to open the tournament. The best round of any of the 75 competitors included one eagle, six birdies and two bogeys. He birdied his final two holes of the day and finished just one stroke shy of his previous best collegiate round, a 65 posted earlier this spring.
Just one stroke behind Killeen is fellow senior David Schultz, who scored a five-under 67. The native of Fargo, N.D. is in a six-way tie for second place after playing the second nine holes at four-under. He carded an eagle on his second-to-last hole, the par-5 eighth.
Drew Stoltz (Fort Collins, Colo.) is tied for 17th place following an opening-round 70 (-2). After a bogey on the third hole, Stoltz played the rest of the 7,094-yard layout at minus-three. The sophomore is seeking his first career top-20 finish.
Junior Colby Beckstrom (North Muskegon, Mich.) finished just one shot over par (73) to land in a share of 48th. Meanwhile, true freshman James Sacheck's round of 76 (+4) has the Zionsville, Ind. product in a tie for 67th position.
Of the tournament's 14 teams, eight are rated in the nation's top 25 according to the GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll. The ranked teams in the field included: No. 4 New Mexico, No. 5 UNLV, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 10 Southern California, No. 12 TCU, No. 18 Texas, No. 22 Minnesota and No. 23 Arizona.
The second round is set to start at 7 a.m. (MT) on Monday, while TCU will tee off beginning at 8:12 a.m. Live scoring is available throughout the event at www.golfstat.com.
-www.gofrogs.com-
Team Scores
1. TCU 276 (-12); 2. UNLV 277 (-11); T-3. New Mexico 280 (-8); T-3. Arizona State 280 (-8); T-3. Arizona (B) 280 (-8); 6. Arizona 281 (-7); 7. Arkansas 282 (-6); 8. Kent State 285 (-3); T-9. Tulsa 286 (-2); T-9. Pepperdine 286 (-2); T-9. Texas 286 (-2); 12. Southern California 287 (-1); 13. Minnesota 289 (+1); 14. Washington 290 (+2).
TCU Individuals
1. J.J. Killeen 66 (-6); T-2. David Schultz 67 (-5); T-17. Drew Stoltz 70 (-2); T-48. Colby Beckstrom 73 (+1); T-67. James Sacheck 76 (+4).
Players Mentioned
