Men's Golf preview: 45th annual Morris Williams Intercollegiate
April 3, 2011
NEXT UP: Texas hosts the 45th annual Morris Williams Intercollegiate, a 14-team, 54-hole stroke play event, on April 4-5, 2011. 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. He perished shortly after his victory in the Worldwide Air Force Championship. 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. WHERE: The University of Texas Golf Club (par 71, 7,412 yards) – Austin, Texas WHEN: Monday, April 4 (36 holes) and Tuesday, April 5 (18 holes); the tournament gets underway with a shotgun start on Monday at 8:30 a.m. Round two will begin Monday at approximately 1 p.m. The final round will get underway with a shotgun start on Tuesday at 8 a.m. Central. THE TOURNAMENT FIELD (with Golfweek/Sagarin rankings): #11 Texas, #17 Arkansas, Denver, Kent State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, #34 Pepperdine, SMU, #16 Stanford, #42 TCU, #19 Texas Tech, Texas-Arlington, #48 Tulsa, UTSA. LIVE SCORING: http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=2545 TEXAS STARTERS (UT will field two teams; the White team will serve as UT’s primary starting-five in the event) White Team Bobby Hudson (Sr. – Memphis, Tenn.) Dylan Frittelli (Jr. – Pretoria, South Africa) Julio Vegas (So., Maturin, Venezuela) Cody Gribble (So. – Dallas, Texas) Orange Team PRE-TOURNAMENT COMMENTS LAST SEASON: Texas placed in the top-five in 11 of 14 events and was victorious at the Puerto Rico Classic and the NCAA East Regional Championship during the 2009-10 season. The Longhorns placed third at the Big 12 Championship and followed the NCAA East Regional by tying for 21st at the NCAA Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. WHO RETURNS: Texas returns the All-America trio of junior Dylan Frittelli, sophomore Cody Gribble and senior Bobby Hudson for the 2010-11 season. Collectively, the trio accounts for six NCAA Championships appearances and four individual tournament victories. Sophomore Johnathan Schnitzer returns after making six starts last season. The Houston native notched a pair of top-25 finishes at the Mauna Lani Invitational and the Morris Williams Intercollegiate. Junior Alex Moon made two starts last season, including the 2009 season opener at The Topy Cup in Japan, where he tied for 24th place. Senior Chris Causey made one appearance last season and placed 11th at the season-opening Topy Cup. Junior Brett Spencer played three events during the 2009-10 campaign and tied for 28th at the 2009 OIympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational. Junior Adam Wennerstrom also competed at the 2009 Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and tied for 33rd place. Texas also welcomes the return of junior Steffan Schmieding, a three-time starter last season, and sophomore Julio Vegas.
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