March 21, 2009
TUCSON, Ariz. - With the Baylor men's basketball team on the road in the NIT, the Bears men's golf team head west to participate at The National Invitational Tournament Sunday, March 22 and Monday, March 23 at the Omni Tucson National Golf Club. The 54-hole tournament will be hosted by the University of Arizona at the 7,094-yard, par 72 course.
The event will be played over two days - 36 holes on Sunday, followed by the final 18 holes on Monday. In addition to Baylor and two squads from host Arizona, the 15-team field includes California, Colorado State, Houston, Kent State, New Mexico, SMU, TCU, Texas, Tulsa, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.
TCU was the team champion in 2008, finishing at 10-under 854. Tulsa's Nicolas Geyger claimed individual medalist honors after firing an 8-under 208.
For the third time in four weeks, Baylor will go with the five-golfer rotation of Bill Allcorn, Morten Bergan, Joakim Mikkelsen, Cody Paladino and Lorenzo Scotto.
Last week at the Border Olympics, Allcorn, Paladino, Scotto and Bergan each finished in the top 20 to lead the Bears to a seven-shot victory. It was Baylor's third team tournament title this season. While Allcorn carded the best overall performance, Scotto recorded the best individual round, firing a 4-under 68 in the second round.
Mikkelsen leads the Bears with a 72.35 stroke average, 0.74 score vs. par and 12 rounds of par or better. Paladino, Allcorn and Mikkelsen have combined for 11 of the Bears' 14 top 10 finishes.
As a team, Baylor is averaging a score of 288.69 per round in the spring through nine rounds.
Live scoring will be available online at GolfStat.com. Daily results and recaps will be available online at BaylorBears.com, the official site of Baylor Bears athletics.
THE NATIONAL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT CENTER
Dates: Sunday, March 22-Monday, March 23
Site: Omni Tucson National Golf Club (Tucson, Ariz.)
Host: Arizona
Format: 54 holes (36 Sunday, 18 Monday)
Start Times: 9:30 a.m. CDT/7:30 a.m. PDT each day
Yardage/Par: 7,094 / 72
2008 Champion: TCU
2008 Medalist: Nicolas Geyger, Tulsa
2009 Tournament Field: Arizona (two squads), BAYLOR, California, Colorado State, Houston, Kent State ,New Mexico, SMU, TCU, Texas, Tulsa, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming
