Oct. 29, 2011
Live Scoring | Royal Oaks Intercollegiate Tournament Central
DALLAS -The Baylor men's golf team concludes its fall schedule Oct. 31-Nov. 1 when it co-hosts the fourth annual Royal Oaks Intercollegiate at Royal Oaks Country Club.
The par-71, 7,068-yard course at Royal Oaks will serve as the site for the fourth-year event. The 54-hole tournament will begin Mon., Oct. 31, with 36 holes (8:30 a.m. CT shotgun start), followed by the final 18 holes (8:30 a.m. CT tee times) on Tue., Nov. 1. Live scoring for each round will be available online at www.golfstat.com and www.baylorbears.com.
"Royal Oaks Country Club is a beautiful course and facility and the ROCC staff has helped us make the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate such an outstanding tournament," head coach Greg Priest said. "This is probably our most competitive tournament field and with the last two national championships competing, I think it's going to make for two great days of college golf."
The 2011 Royal Oaks Intercollegiate features its most competitive tournament field to date. Baylor, No. 24 in the latest Golfweek / Sagarin rankings and No. 28 by Golfstat, and SMU will co-host the event, which features nine teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest Golfstat standings and the last two NCAA Division I national champions - Texas A&M (2009) and Augusta State (2010, 2011). In addition to co-hosts Baylor and SMU, the 14-team field features Army, Augusta State, Duke, Houston, Iowa, Lamar, Missouri, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Tulsa.
Eight of Baylor's 10 golfers will compete in the fall finale. Senior Joakim Mikkelsen, junior Ryan O'Rear and freshmen Kyle Jones, Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen and Niclas Mansson will anchor the Bears' lineup, while Jerry Ruiz, Matthew Seligmann and Drew McGee will play as individuals.
Baylor will be without the services of senior Lorenzo Scotto and freshman Filippo Zucchetti, who will represent their native Italy at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship, which will be held Nov. 2-5 at Whispering Pines in Trinity, Texas.
"We've gotten off to a good start in the fall and had three good finishes up to this point," Priest said. "So, we want to finish on a strong note and give us something good to build on for the spring."
Mikkelsen leads all Baylor golfers with a 71.08 scoring average, -0.67 score vs. par, nine rounds of par or better and four top-10 finishes. The Drammen, Norway, native ranks fifth in program history with 15 top-10 finishes.
Texas A&M claimed the ROI team titles in 2008 and 2009, before Iowa held off the Aggies to win the rain-shortened 2010 edition. Iowa's Vince India won the 2010 individual title, establishing a tournament 36-hole low with a 10-under 132 before weather halted the event after two rounds. Last year, Baylor finished ninth at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate and played without Mikkelsen, who was representing his native Norway at the 2010 World Amateur Team Championships in Argentina.
"The biggest difference between this year and the last few years is that we are playing consistently in the fall," Priest said. "We want to get better with each tournament and we've done that so far."
With the conclusion of its fall schedule, the Baylor men's golf team will open its spring slate Feb. 13-14, 2012, at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational in San Antonio, Texas.
2011 ROYAL OAKS INTERCOLLEGIATE INFORMATION
Co-Hosts: Baylor and SMU
Dates: Mon., Oct. 31-Tue., Nov. 1
Location / Course: Dallas, Texas / Royal Oaks Country Club
Par / Yardage: 71 / 7,068
Format: 36 holes (8:30 a.m. shotgun) on Monday, 18 holes (8:30 a.m. tee times) on Tuesday
Field (14 teams): Army, Augusta State, (28) Baylor, (27) Duke, Houston, (25) Iowa, Lamar, Missouri, (14) New Mexico, (49) Notre Dame, (33) Oklahoma, (42) SMU, (29) Texas A&M (32) Tulsa
Tournament Central: www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-golf/11royaloaks.html
Live Scoring: www.GolfStat.com
