Feb. 29, 2012

IRVING, Texas - Baylor senior Joakim Mikkelsen was named Big 12 Men's Golfer of the Month for February, the conference office announced Wednesday. Mikkelsen is the first Baylor men's golfer to earn Golfer of the Month honors since Ryan Baca in February 2006.

Rated 33rd nationally by Golfstat and 44th in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, Mikkelsen leads the Baylor squad in rounds counted (20-of-21), scoring average (70.90), score vs. par (-0.67) and rounds of par or better (17). The Drammen, Norway, native has finished in the top 10 in six of Baylor's seven tournaments. He is a combined 14-under-par in 21 rounds this season.

Mikkelsen opened the spring season with an individual tournament title at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational in San Antonio. Following a final-round 68, he bested Texas Tech's Clement Sordet on the final hole of a three-hole playoff to take home the UTSA title. It was his second career individual tournament title with both having occurred in the state of Texas (won the 2010 Border Olympics). He followed with his fourth top-five finish of the season, tying for second at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, Calif.

He shot par or better in all six rounds in the month of February, finishing the month 9-under-par. With the first- and second-place showings, he now has 10 career top-5 finishes, which rank fifth in program history, while his 17 career top-10 finishes are tied for fourth all-time.

Mikkelsen is only the fourth Big 12 Men's Golfer of the Month selection in program history, joining Jeremy Alcorn (October 2004) and Baca (December 2005, February 2006). He is the third Baylor golfer - men's or women's - to earn Big 12 Golfer of the Month honors this season. Women's golfers Hayley Davis (September 2011) and Jaclyn Jansen (October 2011) earned Big 12 Golfer of the Month accolades during the fall season.

Baylor continues its spring season March 16-17 at the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas.