Wednesday, October 10, 2001

Men’s golf team finishes third in tournament
By Ram Luthra
Editor in Chief

Golf is a sport where one has to play under pressure to fulfill high expectations.

That pressure was magnified as the men’s golf team defended its No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history Monday and Tuesday.

Golf head coach Bill Montigel said the top-ranked Frogs knew other teams across the nation would be ready to play their best golf against them. The Frogs endured that pressure as the team finished third at the Taylor Made Red River Classic at the Dallas Athletic Club. TCU finished 11 strokes behind champion Texas and one shot behind runner-up Southern California.

“I think other teams will always try to knock you off when you are ranked No. 1,” Montigel said. “But we knew that coming in to the tournament. There is a large ‘X’ on our backs as other teams are gunning for us.”

Even though the Frogs had a big bull’s eye on their backs, Montigel said the team did a good job overall, but other teams played better.

“(We) played well throughout the tournament,” Montigel said. “We hung in there and even had a chance to win, but Texas and Southern Cal played terrific.”

Montigel said he was impressed with junior Adam Rubinson’s play on the two-day tournament. Rubinson, ranked No. 2 in the nation by the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, finished the tournament 10th individually, 6-under par with a 210 score.

“(Rubinson) did extremely well for us,” Montigel said. “He has two double bogeys today and still shot a 69.

“He is probably disappointed because of those shots, but he kept us in contention.”

Senior Steve Shuert, the No. 1 ranked player in the nation, ended the day by scoring 78 and finishing in 51st place with a three-round score of 220.

“It was a frustrating day,” Shuert said. “I played well on some shots, but I made a lot of mistakes.”

While Shuert struggled, Montigel said the major surprise of the tournament came from the exceptional play of freshman J.J. Killeen, who finished 15th overall.

Killeen ended the tournament 7-under par. On the 18th hole, Killeen paced the Frogs as he chipped a 45-foot shot that circled around the hole, eventually falling. The shot highlighted the best round of the day as TCU finished three shots under 69.

Shuert was not surprised with Killeen’s play at the tournament.

“When you practice with this guy you know that he is very tough and competitive,” Shuert said. “He did not surprise me at all, his inexperience did not play a factor at all.”

The third place finish may affect the Frogs’ team rankings, but Montigel feels TCU will not drop below third in the nation. Montigel said Shuert will definitely fall in the individual rankings, but will continue to be in the top 10.

Ram Luthra
r.d.luthra@student.tcu.edu