Site: Austin Country Club (Austin, Texas) | Dates: April 2-4, 2006
Host School: Texas
Course Par and Yardage: Par 72; 6,906 Yards
2005 Team Champion: Florida, 288-282-302=872 (+8)
2005 Medalist: Richard Treis (Florida), 69-71-72=212 (-4)
2006 Field: TEXAS, Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Fresno State, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Southern California, SMU, Stanford, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech and Tulsa.
Texas Line-up ()
1. Jhonattan Vegas (Jr., Maturin, Venezuela/Cicilio Acosta)
2. Matthew Mills (Sr., London, England/Coastal Carolina)
3. Jeff Bell (Sr., Plano, Texas/Plano West)
4. Matthew Rosenfeld (Sr., Plano, Texas/Greenhill School)
5. Randall Lowry (Fr., Spring, Texas/Klein)
Individual: Jace Moore (So., Southlake, Texas/ Southlake Carroll)
Individual: Farren Keenan (Jr., Middlesex, England/Kingston Grammar)
Individual: Hector Diaz-Ceballos (So., Morelos, Mexico/Bradenton Academy)
2006 Morris Williams Intercollegiate Schedule of Events
Sunday, April 2
· Practice round tee times 9-11:30 a.m.
Monday, April 3
· Driving range opens 6:30 a.m.
· First round tee times startat 7:30 a.m. (Austin Country Club, shotgun start)
· Second round continuous play
Tuesday, April 4
· Driving range opens 6:30 a.m.
· Final Round tee times startat 7:30 a.m. (Austin Country Club, #1 and #10 tees)
· Awards ceremony immediately following play (Austin Country Club, Scoreboard)
Texas and the Morris Williams
In 39 tournaments prior to the 2006 edition, Texas has won the Morris Williams 11 times (2002, 1993, 1992, 1988, 1983, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1969, 1968). A Longhorn has won or shared medalist honors 11 times, including the great Ben Crenshaw, who is the only man to win the championship twice (1972 and 1973). Texas' 11 team championships are the most by any school at the Morris Williams, one ahead of Big 12 foe Oklahoma State, while the Longhorns and Cowboys are tied at 11 in individual championships.
Last Year
Senior Shaun Goodwin shot a final-round 75 to finish second at one-over-par to help the Texas men's golf team finish fourth at the 39th Annual Morris Williams Intercollegiate. The Longhorns ended up with a 26-over-par 890 and finished 18 strokes behind Florida, who won the tournament with an eight-over-par 872. Goodwin ended up five strokes behind medalist Richard Treis of Florida, who finished at four-under-par.
Goodwin entered the final round tied for second at two-under-par, but was able to hold on after a round that included five birdies, six bogeys and a double bogey. After birdying 17, he entered the final hole tied at one-over-par with Florida's Brett Stegmaier. His second shot went into the bunker right of the hole, but an excellent third shot got him within five feet of the hole and he was able to save par. Meanwhile, Stegmaier double-bogeyed his final hole to give Goodwin sole possession of second place.
Matthew Mills was the next finisher for the Longhorns, tying for eighth place at five-over-par, after carding consecutive 73s. Mills was playing as an individual, so his score did not count for the team.
Jeff Bell battled to tie for 23rd place at nine-over-par after a three-over-par 75 on the final day. Jhonattan Vegas tied for 28th place at 10-over-par.
Matthew Rosenfeld fired a final-round 71 to finish in a tie for 32nd place at 11-over-par. He struggled through the opening two rounds, but came back for the third-best round of the final day. His final 18 was highlighted by a hole-in-one on the par-three 16th (six iron, 211 yards). Kevin Schultz ended up in a tie for 50th place at 16-over-par.
Three other Longhorns played as individuals led by Jace Moore, who finished in a tie for 32nd place at 11-over-par. Farren Keenan had is best round of the tournament on Tuesday with a three-over-par 75 and finished in a tie for 54th place at 17-over-par. Hector Diaz-Ceballos tied for 82nd place at 31-over-par.
Last Time Out
The University of Texas men's golf team finished tied for third at the 2006 Hall of Fame Invitational after the final round at the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Texas.
Junior Jhonattan Vegas and his fifth-place finish (71+72+75=219, +3) paced the Longhorns to the third spot on the leader board with scores of 293, 300 and 306 for a three-day total of 35-over par 899. Vegas matched his season best finish in the tournament after he tied for fifth at the Hilo Intercollegiate on Feb. 8-10.
Oklahoma State shot a three-round total 16-over-par 880 to win the Hall of Fame Invitational. Anthony Kim of Oklahoma posted a three-round total of eight-under 208, closing with even-par 72 to claim the individual title by eight shots.
Texas A&M fired the low round of the tournament - one-over 289 to vault up three spots to second with a three-round 26-over 890. Texas tied with Oklahoma for third at 35-over. East Tennessee State (+37) slid to fifth. Arizona and Purdue tied for sixth at 40-over while Top-ranked Georgia and TCU tied for eighth at +44. The No. 1-ranked team in the country, the Bulldogs highlighted the field but struggled for most of the tournament.
Kim's eight-stroke victory was the most in the three-year history of the event. He was the only player to finish under par. Moore was followed by Texas A&M's Robert Gates (+1) - who posted the low score of the day with 67 and Martin and Vegas (+3).
Also finishing well for the Longhorns and in the top 35 of the tournament was senior Jeff Bell and senior Matthew Mills. Mills finished tied for 17th in the tournament with a final round three-over par 75 to finish with a three round total of nine-over par 225. Bell tied for 35th-place after shooting a final round eight-over par 80 for a total of 13-over par 229.
Also playing for Texas was senior Matthew Rosenfeld who finished tied for 63rd (75+80+80=235, +19) and freshman Randy Lowry who tied for 67th-place (85+75+76=236, +20).
Competing as individuals at the tournament were junior Farren Keenan who finished tied for 78th-place (79+81+79=239, +23), sophomore Hector Diaz-Ceballos who tied for 88th (74+87+83=244, +28) and sophomore Kevin Schultz who finished 93rd (88+85+86=259, +43).
Home Away From Home
The Texas golf program remains a major presence in the Austin golf community. For years, the Longhorns have utilized the existence of beautiful golf courses throughout Austin in order to hone their skills. Despite the opening of The UT Golf Club, the Morris Williams will be played at the Austin Country Club for the eighth consecutive year and the two will remain connected for the foreseeable future. The ties with Morris Williams himself and the Austin Country Club go back to his days as a member and according to Texas head coach John Fields, "This is where the Morris Williams belongs." Thus, the Texas golf program plans to bring back the Harvey Penick Intercollegiate and will play it at The UT Golf Club. The Harvey Penick was last contested in 1996 and will return in the fall of 2006.
Texas and the Morris Williams
In 39 tournaments prior to the 2006 edition, Texas has won the Morris Williams 11 times (2002, 1993, 1992, 1988, 1983, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1969, 1968). A Longhorn has won or shared medalist honors 11 times, including the great Ben Crenshaw, who is the only man to win the championship twice (1972 and 1973). Texas' 11 team championships are the most by any school at the Morris Williams, one ahead of Big 12 foe Oklahoma State, while the Longhorns and Cowboys are tied at 11 in individual championships.
Next Stop, PGA Tour
The Morris Williams has played host to some of the greatest college players of all time. A lot of these players went on to make a name for themselves on the PGA Tour as well. The list includes familiar names like Texas greats Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Bob Estes and Justin Leonard. Other household names include Payne Stewart, Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson amongst many others.
