TCU
Inverness Intercollegiate
McLean claims individual title as Frogs place second at Inverness
9/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 12, 2006
TOLEDO, Ohio - Sophomore Jon McLean continued his outstanding play over the past month, as he cruised to a four-stroke individual victory at the Inverness Intercollegiate. The Horned Frogs, who began the day with an eight-shot lead, slipped into a second-place showing at the 15-team season-opening tournament.
After strong rounds of 295 and 299 on Monday at the historic Inverness Club (Par 71, 7,255 yards), the Frogs (899) carded a 305 in a soggy final round and were overtaken by Southern California (896), who closed with a tournament-best 294. Among the nationally-ranked schools that TCU defeated were second-ranked Georgia, No. 5 UNLV, 10th-rated Texas A&M and No. 14 Florida. TCU's finish was its best since opening the 2005-06 season with a runner-up placement at the Cleveland State Invitational.
McLean, who in August reached the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur Championships, became the first TCU individual to win a tournament since April of 2005, when Colby Beckstrom and Drew Stoltz shared medalist honors at the Conference USA Championships. McLean's three-round total of 214 (+1) was four strokes better than Florida's Manuel Villegas. Just five participants in the 75-player field finished with a 54-hole score of better than 10-over.
The Weston, Fla., native netted a 2-over 73 on Tuesday, his highest score of the competition, but still bested his 54-hole scoring mark by two strokes. McLean is the ninth different Horned Frog player in the past decade, dating back to PGA Tour star J.J. Henry, to win medalist honors at a tournament.
Playing in just his fifth collegiate tournament, classmate Jesse Speirs notched his first career top-20 finish. He shared 16th place after a 77 on Tuesday gave him a 54-hole 227 (+14).
Robby Ormand (232) tied for 37th after a final-round 78. The sophomore shot level par on the back side and made the team's lone eagle of the tournament on the par-5 13th.
Junior Franklin Corpening played 1-under over his final seven holes to help the Frogs hang onto second place by one over Florida (900). He finished his round with a 77, which tied for 43rd overall (234, +21). Sophomore Tom Miles wound up in 65th position with a score of 242 (+29).
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Team Scores
1. Southern California 303-299-294--896 (+44); 2. TCU 295-299-305--899 (+47); 3. Florida 303-303-294--900 (+48); 4. Coastal Carolina 299-303-299--901 (+49); 5. Georgia 305-301-298--904 (+52); 6. UNLV 312-299-295--906 (+54); 7. Texas A&M 309-299-306--914 (+62); 8. Kent State 306-307-309--922 (+70); 9. Florida State 308-310-305--923 (+71); 10. Nebraska 311-305-308--924 (+72); 11. Michigan State 319-306-304--929 (+77); 12. Toledo 302-311-318--931 (+79); T-13. Illinois 316-309-307--932 (+80); T-13. Virginia Tech 318-308-306--932 (+80); 15. New Mexico 313-325-315--953 (+101).
TCU Individual Scores
1. Jon McLean 69-72-73--214 (+1); T-16. Jesse Speirs 76-74-77--227 (+14); T-37. Robby Ormand 78-76-78--232 (+19); T-43. Franklin Corpening 80-77-77--234 (+21); 65. Tom Miles 72-83-87--242 (+29).
Players Mentioned
