The K-State men’s golf team is scheduled to play in its first tournament of the 2009-10 season. The Wildcats will compete in the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in Zionsville, Ind. this weekend.
The tournament consists of three rounds; all 16 teams will play 36 holes tomorrow and 18 holes on Sunday. Each team will bring five players to golf, with the top four scores counting toward the team total.
Michigan looks to defend its title from last season’s win at Wolf Run, when they won by 10 strokes. K-State men’s golf head coach Tim Norris said he thinks this year’s participants consist of teams with a lot of talent, which will be good competition for the Wildcats.
“It’s a very good field,” Norris said. “Several of these teams were NCAA teams from last year. Both Illinois and Michigan advanced to the championships. It’s going to be a good indication of where we are pretty early in the season.”
With so many good teams playing in the 2009 Wolf Run Intercollegiate, the Wildcats may have a tough task at hand. Norris said he thinks he has a roster full of talent, as Mitch Gregson was named by GolfWorld as one of the Top-50 players to watch this season.
“Mitch Gregson and Joe Ida were two of our everyday players from last year,” Norris said. “Chase Chamberlin did a great job in the qualifier and he’s just a redshirt freshman. Joe Kinney, who is a fifth-year senior, has a lot of experience and Ross Geubelle was a tremendous help last year. We have a good variety of players and I think Gregson’s best golf is ahead of him.”
With the Wildcats coming off a NCAA Regional berth last season, Norris said he does not have any real expectations just yet, but did say he just wants to improve upon last season’s finish.
“If we can be better than last year, not so much from a team standpoint but more from an individual standpoint, I think we’ll have a better year,” Norris said. “We lost two real good players from last year; one was an All-American. I don’t think this year is a rebuilding year; I think this could be a really special year for us.”
First round tournament play will begin tomorrow at Wolf Run Golf Club opening with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Second round play will immediately follow the first round, while the third round play is scheduled to begin Sunday at 8:30 a.m.