Frogs Travel to Sawgrass for John Hayt Collegiate Invitational
2/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 27, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Horned Frogs will return to action on Sunday for their second tournament of the spring season as TCU travels to Jacksonville, Fla., to take part in the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club.
The Frogs - who enter the tournament ranked 14th in the country - will look to rebound from a disappointing 13th-place showing at the Mauna Lani Invitational in Kamuela, Hawai'i in their first tournament of the spring campaign. This season, the Frogs have posted three top-10 showings, including a tournament crown at The Prestige at PGA West during the fall campaign.
The Frogs will be joined at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational by several top-30 programs in Florida (3rd), Alabama (12th), Tennessee (24th), North Carolina State (27th) and North Florida (29th).
"This is a very difficult tournament," said head men's golf coach Bill Montigel. "Not only do you have several top-30 programs, but you are playing on a very historic golf course that was once home to a PGA Tour event. This will be a great challenge for our team, and I'm excited to see how we bounce back after our last tournament."
Senior Travis Woolf, junior Tom Hoge, sophomores Johan de Beer and Eli Cole will be joined by freshman Daniel Jennevret in the starting rotation. Newcomer Pontus Gad will participate as an individual at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational.
"I really like this lineup. Every player that is in the lineup deserves to be here, and I'm excited to see what they can do at a very challenging golf course. We've worked really over the last few weeks, and I'm very confident in this lineup," said Montigel.
Woolf is coming off a 54th-place showing at the Mauna Lani Invitational after shooting a three-round score of 227 (78-75-74). The TCU senior is currently ranked second on the team in strokes average (74.08) and has posted a pair of top-15 finishes, including a seventh-place showing at The Prestige at PGA West.
"Travis is a natural leader and continues to be one of the hardest workers that we have on this team. I know what Travis is capable of doing on a golf course, and I know that he continues to have high expectations for himself. You never have to motivate a player when they expect such high things for themselves," said Montigel.
Hoge is also coming off a 54th-place finish in his first spring tournament of the season after recording a score of 227 (76-77-74). The TCU junior is ranked fifth on the team with a 75.13 strokes average and recorded his best tournament of the season at the Western Refining Collegiate All-American Classic where he place 17th overall. At that tournament, Hoge posted a 7-under-par score of 64 in the second round of action.
"Hoge has played extremely well over the last few weeks, and I think that he has found his swing and is ready for an outstanding tournament. He has played in many challenging tournaments, and I think that this is going to be his breakout tournament of the season," Montigel said.
Jennevret finished 52nd overall at the Mauna Lani Invitational and has recorded a top-30 showing in two of his first four collegiate tournaments. The TCU newcomer is ranked first on the team in strokes average (73.58) and captured his first collegiate tournament at The Prestige at PGA West, tying teammate Johan de Beer for the fastest golfer in program history to capture a tournament crown (second).
"Daniel continues to impress me every time he steps on the course. He is able to make adjustments from round to round, and that is very important, especially for a player who's never played on a lot of these courses before. He is very talented and possesses a lot of intelligence on the golf course," Montigel said.
De Beer was the Frogs' top performer at the Mauna Lani Invitational as the TCU sophomore finished tied for 50th overall with a 54-hole score of 224 (79-74-71), including a 1-under-par score of 71 on the final 18 holes of action. The TCU sophomore is ranked third on the team in strokes average (74.22) and posted his best finish of the season at The Prestige at PGA West with a bronze medal showing.
"Johan really played well during our qualifiers, and I really expect him to carry that over to this tournament. He has been on a roll of as late, and I know that he is motivated to put together three solid rounds. He possesses a lot of talent, and I think that this could be the tournament that springboards him for the remainder of the season," said Montigel.
Cole has played in a pair of tournaments this season with his best showing coming at The Prestige at PGA West where he finished 26th overall following a three-round score of 221 (74-69-78). Over the last six rounds, Cole has recorded a 75.67 strokes average.
"Eli has such a great attitude and hard worker that he really deserves to be in our lineup. He has played really well over the last few weeks and deserves this opportunity. I know that he is motivated to prove that he deserves to be in the lineup in every tournament, and I'm excited to watch him in this tournament," said Montigel.
Gad has seen action in all four tournaments for the Frogs during his rookie season where he has accumulated two top-30 showings, including a fourth-place finish in his collegiate debut at the PING/Golfweek Preview. The TCU freshman is ranked fourth on the team with a 75.25 strokes average and has posted four rounds of par or better this season.
"Pontus has played well all season, and I think that what's important is that he continue to learn from every round. He is such a long player that he wants to go for it on every hole, but he's realizing that he has to play with some finesse as well. I think that once he puts that part of the game together then he is going to be an outstanding golfer," said Montigel.
The first round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational will be held on Sunday with the second and third rounds of action coming on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
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