Site: Caves Valley Golf Club (Owings Mills, Md.)
Dates: June 1-4, 2005
Tournament Info
Format: 72 Holes, 18 each day (Cut to 15 teams and six individuals after 54 holes)
Course Stats: Par 70, 7,129 yards
Host: Loyola College (Md.)
Rankings
20th (Golfweek/Sagarin Rating)
Lineup
1. Matthew Rosenfeld, 72.48*
2. Jeff Bell, 73.63*
3. Shaun Goodwin, 74.07*
4. Matthew Mills, 74.00*
5. Farren Keenan, 75.00*
* - 2004-05 Stroke Avg.
The Field
The 2005 NCAA Championships will include 27 teams ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin Top 40. Eight of the top 10 teams advanced from the regionals, nine of the next 10 advanced, six from No. 21-30 and three from No. 31-40. The rest of the field is made up of teams ranked below 40 with Missouri being the lowest ranked team at No. 55.
Golf on TV
Exclusive coverage of the NCAA Men's Golf Championships will be televised on The Golf Channel beginning June 2. The final three rounds of the tournament will air each day from 2-4 p.m. (Central). Hosting the coverage will be Brian Anderson and Curt Byrum, with College Central's Steve Burkowski reporting from the course and handling interviews. Here is a look at the complete coverage schedule:
Thursday, June 2
4-6 p.m. (Central) (Second Round, Tape-Delayed)
Friday, June 3
2-4 a.m. (Central) (Second Round, Replay)
4-6 p.m. (Central) (Third Round, Tape-Delayed)
Saturday, June 4
2-4 a.m. (Central) (Third Round, Replay)
4-6 p.m. (Central) (Final Round, Tape-Delayed)
Sunday, June 5
2-4 a.m. (Central) (Final Round, Replay)
Texas at the NCAA Championship
The Texas Longhorns will be making their 56th appearance at the NCAA Championship when they travel to Owings Mills, Md. on June 1-4. In UT's previous 55 appearances, the Longhorns have produced two NCAA team titles (1971 and 1972) and a total of 17 Top Five and 28 Top 10 finishes. Individually, Texas golfers have combined to record a total of six NCAA titles (Ed White, 1935; Ben Crenshaw, 1971, '72 and '73; Tom Kite, 1972; Justin Leonard, 1994).
Last Year's NCAA Championship
Texas finished fourth at the 2004 NCAA Championship with a 29-over-par 1,149. UT finished 15 strokes behind national champion California, nine strokes behind runner-up UCLA and one shot behind third-place Arizona. Jason Hartwick was the low Longhorn at one-over-par, tying for eighth place. Three Longhorns that will be competing this year also competed in last year's national tournament. Matthew Rosenfeld tied for 15th place at three-over-par, Jeff Bell tied for 40th place at 12-over-par and Farren Keenan finished at 16-over-par to tie for 52nd place.
NCAA Experience
Three of the five Longhorns who will be competing at this year's national championship already have experience in NCAA competition. Junior Matthew Rosenfeld has participated in two national tourneys, finishing third as a freshman and tying for 15th as a sophomore. Junior Jeff Bell and sophomore Farren Keenan made their first appearances at last year's NCAA Championships.
Palmer Cup Streak Continues
For the fourth consecutive year, a Longhorn has been named to the U.S. Palmer Cup team by the Golf Coaches Association of America. This year, junior Matthew Rosenfeld was selected as one of eight American golfers who will compete against their counterparts from Europe in the annual Ryder Cup-style event. The tournament will be played June 8-9 on the 7,201-yard, par 72 Whistling Straits Irish Course in Kohler, Wis. Former Longhorns Jason Hartwick (2003 and '04) and John Klauk (2002) were the other Longhorns involved in the four-year run.
Ben Hogan, Meet Matthew Rosenfeld
Earlier this season, junior Matthew Rosenfeld was named a semifinalist for the 2005 Ben Hogan Award, which is annually presented to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer. Rosenfeld celebrated this honor by tying for second place at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz. on March 29. He has five top-six finishes this year, including a tie for first place at the Western Refining All-America Classic in December. In addition, Rosenfeld earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors this season.
Bell's Resurgence
Junior Jeff Bell seems to have regained the form that earned him All-Big 12 honors in 2004. Bell struggled with injuries throughout this season but is playing his best golf in the postseason. He tied for 23rd place at both the Hall of Fame Invitational (Mar. 18-20) and the Morris Williams Intercollegiate (Apr. 4-5), then followed with a three-under-par 213 (72-68-73) at the Aggie Invitational. He was the low Longhorn at the NCAA Central Regional, tying for 17th place at four-over-par (72-70-72!4).
Senior Citizen
As the lone senior on the 2005 Texas men's golf team, Shaun Goodwin has provided a steady influence for the squad throughout this season. He is currently playing the best golf of his UT career, which started midway through his sophomore year after transferring from Sam Houston State. He carded his best single-round total, a 67, during the second round of the National Invitational Tournament. He went on to earn a second-place finish at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate with a one-over-par 217. Then, at the Big 12 Championship, Goodwin tied for 15th place at nine-over-par to finish as the low Longhorn.
The Hobbits
Junior Matthew Mills and sophomore Farren Keenan, who are affectionately known as "The Hobbits" by the rest of the men's golf team, returned to the lineup for the NCAA Central Regional. Keenan, who hails from Middlesex, England, played in the second regional of his career, finishing in a tie for 36th place at eight-over-par. Mills, who is a native of London, England, saw the first regional action of his career and tied for 56th at 11-over-par. Mills currently has the third-best scoring average on the team at 74.00, with Keenan one stroke behind him at 75.00. Before the regional, the roommates hadn't been in the lineup together since the Collegiate Match Play in November.
