Men's Golf preview: Morris Williams Intercollegiate
March 29, 2009 UP NEXT: Texas (#15 GCAA) hosts the 43rd annual Morris Williams Intercollegiate, an 18-team, 54-hole stroke play event. The tournament is held annually in memory of former University of Texas golf star Morris Williams, Jr., who died in a plane crash while serving in the Air Force in 1953. An Austin native, Williams became the city’s youngest junior champion at age 13 and dominated the local golf scene for the next several years. He starred on the Longhorns’ teams from 1947-50 and led Texas to Southwest Conference championships in 1947, 1948 and 1950. In his final year (1950), Williams was runner-up in the NCAA Championship as UT finished second in the team competition. Upon graduation, Williams joined the Air Force and posted an undefeated record in service golf tournaments. It was shortly after his victory in the Worldwide Air Force Championship that he was killed. Former medalists at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate include such names as Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Brad Elder, Bob Estes, Justin Leonard, Phil Mickelson and Payne Stewart. WHEN: Monday, March 30 (36 holes) and Tuesday, March 31(18 holes); the 18 teams will tee off with a shotgun start on Monday at 8:30 a.m. Central. Round two begins Monday at 1 p.m. WHERE: The University of Texas Golf Club (par 71, 7,412 yards) – Austin, Texas WHO: Joining Texas will be Air Force, #17 Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oklahoma, #3 Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Rice, SMU, #18 TCU, #20 Texas A&M, #13 Texas Tech, Tulsa, UNLV and #2 USC TEXAS LINEUP: Junior Charlie Holland (Dallas, Texas), freshman Dylan Frittelli (Pretoria, South Africa), sophomore Bobby Hudson (Memphis, Tenn.), sophomore Donald Constable (Wayzata, Minn.) and junior Lance Lopez (Missouri City, Texas) will compete in the team and individual competitions for the Longhorns.
LIVE SCORING: Click here for live scoring. LAST YEAR AT THE MORRIS WILLIAMS INTERCOLLEGIATE: Then-redshirt freshman Bobby Hudson set a new course record with a six-under 65 in the final round to take medalist honors and lead Texas to the team title at the 2008 Morris Williams Intercollegiate, which marked the tournament’s first appearance at The University of Texas Golf Club. Hudson was victorious at five-under (208) for the tournament, and Texas finished at 16-over par(868) to take the team title. LAST TIME OUT: Texas placed seventh at the National Invitational Tournament on March 24 in Tucson, Ariz. Juniors Charlie Holland and Lance Lopez placed 14th individually. HOT START FOR HORNS: Texas opened the season by tying LSU for the team title at the 12-team Gopher Invitational. Holland tied for second at one-under par to land his sixth top-10 finish as a Longhorn, and Constable tied for eighth at three-over par. The Horns went on to take fifth at the Olympia Fields Invitational before scoring its second tournament victory of the season when it captured the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate on Nov. 12 in Kahuku, Hawaii. WHO RETURNS: Texas returns three starters from the 2008 squad that placed 19th at the NCAA Championships and took second at the Big 12 Championships. Junior Charlie Holland returns after earning GCAA third-team All-America honors last season, during which he took medalist honors at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. UT also returns sophomore Bobby Hudson, who set the course record with a 65 at The University of Texas Golf Club last April en route to medalist honors at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate. Junior Lance Lopez also returns after playing in the last two NCAA Championships for the Longhorns. Sophomore Donald Constable played in four events last season and has earned a start in all six tournaments this season. |
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