Oct. 5, 2004
CORDOVA, Tenn. - The Missouri men's golf team struggled in the final round of the Memphis Intercollegiate, played at the Colonial Country Club outside of Memphis.
Following a final-round aggregate score of 320, the Tigers finished 14th out of the 16 teams in Tennessee.
Sophomore Shawn Jasper (Marthasville, Mo. / Francis Howell HS / Newman Univ.) was Mizzou's highest finisher, posting his best finish of the season by placing in a tie for 44th. Jasper, a day after shooting a season-best 74 in the first round, fired a 77. The best round of the day for Mizzou belonged to sophomore John Kelly (St. Louis, Mo. / Christian Brothers College HS), who carded a four-over-par 76 to tie for 58th place.
Juniors Ben Scott (Lancashire, United Kingdom / St. Theodore's HS) and Chris Mabry (Leawood, Kan. / Bishop Miege HS) - who had been MU's most consistent golfers all season - struggled with rounds of 81 and 87, respectively. They finished in ties for 47th and 74th.
Senior Justin Bliss (Chesterfield, Mo. / Lafayette HS) closed with an 86, finishing in 89th, in his first appearance of the season.
Host Memphis overcame a four-stroke deficit entering the day to win the team title by seven strokes over Xavier and first-day leader Central Florida. Allan Thomas of Memphis fired a 5-under 67 to take medalist honors by two strokes.
"I told these guys that I believe in them. I don't think I'm wrong to do that, but they shouldn't be complacent with where we finished," Head Coach Mark Leroux said. "The South Course at Colonial is a test of golf, and apparently we need to be more prepared for the next test. I'm excited to be hosting next week and bringing people into Missouri. We're looking forward to having these people up here; hopefully we'll have a little bit of a home-course advantage"
The Tigers return home to host the Missouri Bluffs Challenge - their only home tournament of the year - next Monday and Tuesday at the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club in St. Charles, Mo.
MIZZOU MEN'S GOLF
at Memphis Intercollegiate - Cordova, Tenn.
Colonial CC - 6,991 yards / par 72
TEAM STANDINGS (top five plus MU) - 1. Memphis, 293-290-290--873; 2. Xavier, 297-288-295--880; 3. UCF, 287-292-308--887; 4. Louisville, 300-290-298--888; 5. Mississippi, 297-296-296--889; 14. Missouri, 305-304-320--929.
INDIVID. STANDINGS (top five plus MU finishes) - 1. Allan Thomas (Memphis), 77-70-67--214; 2. (tie), Jordan Dempsey (Ole Miss), 73-73-70--216; Neal Grusczynski (Xavier), 72-69-75--216; 4. (tie), Patrick Sullivan (UALR), 74-74-69--217; Keven Fortin-Simard (Memphis), 71-73-73--217; Justin Miers (Memphis), 72-72-73--217; T44. Shawn Jasper, 74-79-77--230; T47. Ben Scott, 75-75-81--231; T58. John Kelly, 81-76-76--233; T74. Chris Mabry, 75-74-87--236; 89. Justin Bliss, 82-83-86--251.