TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The No. 43 Baylor men's golf team prepares for a busy seven-day stretch that begins this weekend with the Seminole Intercollegiate at the par-72, 7,172-yard Southwood Golf Course.
Last week, sophomore Joakim Mikkelsen earned individual medalist honors for the first time in his career, winning the Border Olympics by two shots. Baylor, which won the 2009 Border Olympics, finished eighth in this year's edition.
The 54-hole tournament will feature 18 holes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hosted by Florida State, the 14-team Seminole Intercollegiate field includes Arkansas, Cincinnati, George Mason, Georgia State, Mercer, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Texas, South Carolina, Troy, Vanderbilt and Western Carolina. Live scoring will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
"We are looking forward to playing again after a disappointing team effort at the Border Olympics," Baylor head men's golf coach Greg Priest said. "We had some very good individual performances with Joakim (Mikkelsen) winning and Payne (Gniewek) finishing 16th."
Mikkelsen anchors a lineup that will include Payne Gniewek, Lorenzo Scotto, Ryan O'Rear, Austin Berkovsky and Jerry Ruiz. Either Berkovsky or Ruiz will compete as an individual. Mikkelsen leads the Bears with a 71.86 scoring average, 0.14 score vs. par and 12 rounds of par or better. Gniewek ranks second to Mikkelsen in stroke average (73.24), score vs. par (1.52) and rounds of par or better (eight).
Since joining the Bears at the semester break, Ruiz has posted a 75.33 stroke average through six rounds, while O'Rear has a 75.83 average (also through six rounds).
"We need to get more consistent as a team and put 54 holes together," Priest said. "The saying around Baylor has been `Star fast, finish strong' and we need to learn to do that."
After the Seminole Intercollegiate, Baylor will head west March 17-18 to Tucson, Ariz., for the National Invitational Tournament
LAREDO, Texas - Baylor men's golf sophomore Joakim Mikkelsen shot 6-under (70-68=138) and holds a four-shot lead through two rounds Friday at the Border Olympics.
Mikkelsen carded his 11th and 12th rounds of par or better on the season, firing an opening-round 2-under 70 before closing with a second-round 4-under 68. Lamar's M.J. Daffue is in second at 2-under 142, followed by a five-way tie for third at 1-under 143.
Lamar (291-282=573) leads the tournament field by seven strokes. Oklahoma is in second place at 4-over 580, followed by Texas State (292-289=581) in third, Baylor (301-282=583) in fourth and UT Arlington (298-286=584) in fifth. After the Bears shot 13-over in the first round, they rebounded with a 6-under second round behind a pair of 4-under 68s by Mikkelsen and Lorenzo Scotto.
Baylor and Washington State were the only schools with multiple individual rounds in the 60s.
Scotto, who carded one of Baylor's three sub-par rounds Friday, is tied for 22nd overall at 3-over (79-68=147). Payne Gniewek is one shot behind Scotto in 27th place at 4-over (75-73=148). Freshman Ryan O'Rear, competing as an individual, shot 7-over (75-76=151) to finish the first day tied for 42nd.
Participating in his second tournament as a Bear, Jerry Ruiz is tied for 55th at 9-over (77-76=153). Cody Paladino, who finished eighth at the Border Olympics in 2009, shot 10-over (81-73=154) and is tied for 64th. Individual Michael McKinley is tied for 86th at 19-over (80-83=163).
The Border Olympics will conclude with the final round Saturday morning at Laredo Country Club.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Payne Gniewek carded a final-round even-par 71, helping the Baylor men's golf team to a season-best third-place finish Tuesday at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational.
Baylor (26-over 878), ranked 41st in the latest Golfstat rankings, and Tulsa finished three strokes behind Texas Tech, who repeated as team champion at 23-over 875. The Red Raiders finished one shot ahead of second-place Southeastern Louisiana (25-over 877).
The Bears have now finished in the top four in each of its last five tournaments.
Southeastern Louisiana's Philipp Westermann earned individual medalist honors, finishing at 2-under 211.
Sophomores Joakim Mikkelsen and Lorenzo Scotto carded Baylor's best individual performances of the tournament, both finishing tied for 11th at 6-over 219. Mikkelsen has finished in the top 25 in all six tournaments and in the top 15 four times this season. Scotto's 11th-place showing Tuesday was his best finish of the season.
Gniewek registered Baylor's only even-par round of the tournament with an even-par 71 Tuesday. He finished tied for 16th at 7-over 220 with teammate Jerry Ruiz. Sophomore Drew McGee, participating as an individual, finished tied for 53rd at 17-over 230. Cody Paladino finished tied for 76th at 26-over 239.
Baylor returns to action March 5-6 at the Border Olympics, hosted by the University of Houston, in Laredo, Texas.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Baylor men's golf teams is in fourth place, four strokes behind the leaders, through two rounds Monday at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational.
Baylor, ranked 41st in the latest Golfstat standings, shot an 18-over 586. No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 49 Southeastern Louisiana are tied for the lead at 14-over 582. Tulsa is one shot behind in second place at 15-over 583.
Texas Tech was the only team to record a sub-par round Monday, firing a second-round 5-under 283.
Sophomores Lorenzo Scotto and Joakim Mikkelsen are tied for eighth at 3-over 145, three strokes behind the leaders. Both shot first-round 1-over 73s before finishing with an even-par 72 in the second round. Louisiana-Lafayette's Philipp Fendt, Wichita State's Dustin Garza and Southeastern Louisiana's Philipp Westermann are in a three-way tie atop the leaderboard at even-par 142.
Freshman Jerry Ruiz, making his collegiate debut in San Antonio, shot a second-round even-par 72 to finish tied for 22nd overall at 5-over 147. Graham, Texas, native Drew McGee also made his collegiate debut Monday as an individual; McGee finished the day tied for 68th at 16-over 158.
Payne Gniewek, who made an immediate impact in the fall when he transferred from Michigan State, posted back-to-back rounds of 74 and 75, respectively, to finish tied for 33rd at 7-over 149. Junior Cody Paladino finished tied with McGee for 68th at 16-over 158.
The UTSA Oak Hills Invitational will conclude with the final round Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. CST. Live scoring will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
UTSA OAK HILLS INVITATIONAL
Team Results
t1. [49] Southeastern Louisiana 292-290=582
+14
t1. [11] Texas Tech 299-283=582 +14
3. Tulsa 3292-292=583
+15
4. [41] Baylor 295-291=586
+18
5. Iowa State 295-292=587
+19
7. Louisiana-Lafayette 296-295=591 +23
8. Texas State 300-293=593
+25
9.
[50] Wichita State 300-294=594
+26
10.
Stephen F. Austin 300-297=597
+29
11. Sam Houston State 306-292=598
+30
12. Oklahoma 305-297=602 +34
13. UTSA 304-307=611
+43
14. Air Force 309-304=613 +45
15. Illinois State 317-310=627 +59
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Baylor men's golf team, ranked 41st in the latest Golfstat NCAA Division I head-to-head standings, will open its spring season Feb. 15-16 at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be held at the par-71, 6,765-yard Oak Hills Country Club. The first 36 holes will be played Monday, followed by the final 18 holes Tuesday. In addition to Baylor and host UTSA, the 15-team field includes Air Force, Illinois State, Iowa State, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas, Oklahoma, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Southeastern Louisiana, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Wichita State and defending champion Texas Tech.
"Oak Hills is a great traditional-style golf course that our guys should enjoy playing," Baylor head men's golf coach Greg Priest said. "We had a very consistent fall season and we want to continue that this spring by getting off to a great start in San Antonio."
Six golfers will hit the links at Oak Hills for the Bears, which finished in the top five in each of his five fall tournaments - Joakim Mikkelsen, Payne Gniewek, Cody Paladino, Lorenzo Scotto, newcomer Jerry Ruiz and individual Drew McGee. Mikkelsen, Gniewek, Paladino and Scotto played in all five fall tournaments. Mikkelsen posted a 71.80 stroke average through 15 fall rounds, carded 10 rounds of par or better and five top-25 finishes. All 15 of the Norwegian sophomore's rounds counted towards the team score, while also registered an even score vs. par.
Gniewek, who transferred from Michigan State prior to the start of the fall season, ranked second behind Mikkelsen with a 73.13 scoring average and seven rounds of par or better. Paladino (73.80) and Scotto (73.87) notched a combined five top-25 finishes in the fall for the Bears.
McGee and Ruiz will both make their Baylor debuts at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational.
"The guys have been working hard despite the weather," Priest said. "We are excited about the opportunity to open the spring with such great weather in San Antonio."
Live scoring for the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
