Huskers Set to Host Fairway Club Invitational

The Nebraska men's golf team opens its 2004-05 season in familiar territory next week. The Huskers will play host to the Fairway Club Invitational at Lincoln's Firethorn Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday. The tournament will feature a shotgun start with play scheduled to begin each day at 8:30 a.m.

The Fairway Club Invitational will consist of a 12-team field, led by the host Huskers and Southern Miss, one of the top teams in Conference USA. Other teams in the Fairway Club field include Southwest Missouri, Drake, Wyoming, Troy, Army, Texas-Pan American, Northern Colorado, Creighton, South Dakota State and Northern Illinois.

Nebraska Coach Bill Spangler is pleased to open the season with home- course advantage.

"Our guys play at Firethorn regularly, so if they can get it going a little bit, we should have the confidence to continue to play well and put some good rounds together," Spangler said.

Nebraska finished sixth among a 14-team field at last year's Fairway Club Invitational. The Huskers posted a two-round total of 592, before the final round of play was washed out.

The Fairway Club Invitational is the first of six fall tournaments for the Huskers. Following the Fairway Club Invitational, Nebraska will travel to Lawrence, Kan., for the Kansas Invitational, set for Sept. 20-21.

A Look Ahead to 2004-05

Spangler will field a team without a senior in 2004-05, but also a squad that picked up extensive tournament experience a year ago.

The Huskers' most experienced performer heading into the 2004 fall campaign is junior co-captain Judd Cornell, a product of Omaha's Millard West High School. Cornell has been a regular starter in each of his first two seasons in the Nebraska program and finished last season with a 75.64 stroke average. Cornell is coming off an excellent summer, including a fourth-place finish at the Nebraska Amateur Championship.

Sophomore Brady Schnell was a high school teammate of Cornell's at Millard West and has flashed similar ability. Schnell played in 31 tournaments last season and averaged 75.52 strokes per round. Schnell was Nebraska's top finisher at last year's Fairway Club Invite, finishing in a tie for ninth place.

Tom Bethel came on strong for the Huskers during the 2004 spring season, finishing 16th or higher in his first five tournaments of the spring. Bethel completed the year with a 75.36 stroke average and Spangler expects big things out of him this fall.

Drew Reynolds started all 13 tournaments as a redshirt freshman last season and compiled a 76.58 stroke average with three top-20 finishes. Reynolds joins Cornell as co-captains for the 2004-05 team.

Also returning for 2004-05 is Kent Schreiner, a walk-on from Ogallala who competed in two tournaments last spring, and sophomore Ryan Lenahan who returns to action after redshirting during the 2003-04 season.

Spangler added an impressive group of players for this season. Chris Bruening was one of the top junior players in the state of Nebraska andjoins the Husker program from Norfolk High School. Tyler Bishop (Longmont, Colo.), Geoff Mead (Rapid City, S.D.) and Brooks Blackmer (Magrath, Alberta, Canada), also signed with the Huskers during the 2003 fall signing period and bring top credentials to Lincoln. All are expected to push for playing time this season, along with fellow freshmen Mark Pillen (Columbus, Neb.) and Taylor Brown (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Fairway Club Invitational Notes

4Northern Colorado is one of 12 teams in the Fairway Club field. The Bears are led by Wally Goodwin, who is in his second season at UNC as the Director of Golf. Previously, Goodwin spent 14 seasons as the head coach of the Stanford men's golf program. Goodwin was named the NCAA National Coach of the Year in 1994 and Pac-10 Conference Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1995. He led Stanford to the NCAA team title in 1994 and Pac-10 titles in 1992 and 1994. From 1994-1999, Stanford had 21 tournament wins, 10 runner-up finishes and seven third-places. Goodwin's most notable pupil at Stanford was Tiger Woods, who won the 1996 NCAA Championship.

4Firethorn Golf Club is generally regarded as one of the top golf courses in the Midwest. A Pete Dye design, Firethorn is regularly ranked as a top 100 course in the United States.

 

This Week's Tournament

Event

Fairway Club Invitational

Dates

Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 13-14

Course, Location

Firethorn Golf Club,

Lincoln, Neb.

Par, Yardage

Par 71, 6,762 yards

Format

54 holes,

36 holes Monday, 18 Tuesday

2003 Champion

Iowa State (591)

Fairway Club Field

Nebraska, Southern Miss, Creighton, Drake, Troy, Army, Northern Illinois, Wyoming, UT-Pan American, So. Dakota St.,

Southwest Missouri, No. Colorado