March 17, 2002

Huntersville, N.C. - The University of Missouri men's golf team finished 2nd of 18 teams in the prestigious Birkdale Collegiate Classic. The Tigers finished just two shots back of third-ranked Wake Forest, which won with a two-round total of 570, to Mizzou's 572. The Tigers' shot at upsetting the Demon Deacons was cut short by poor weather on Sunday, leaving Saturday's 36 holes as the final results.

Senior standout Mark McBride led the way individually for the Tigers, with a 4th-place finish. McBride shot a four-under par 68 and followed with an even-par 72 Saturday for a two-round total of 140. That was just two shots back of individual champ Bill Haas of Wake Forest (66-72=138).

Sophomore Brandon Knaub and junior Cory Ewert also notched top-20 finishes for Head Coach Tim Robyn. Knaub stood alone in 15th place overall after rounds of 73 and 70 left him with a 36-hole total of 143 on Saturday. Ewert went three-under par (69) in his opening round Saturday, and followed with a 75 in the afternoon round to tie for 16th individually (144).

Junior Chris Happ tied for 32nd (75-71=146) while sophomore Mike Radek tied for 72nd overall (82-74=156) to round out the Tiger lineup.

Next up for Missouri is the Stevinson Ranch Invitational, set for March 25-26 in Stevinson, Calif.

TEAM STANDINGS
Pl	School	                1st	2nd	3rd	Tot
 1	Wake Forest	        281	289		570
 2	MISSOURI	        285	287		572
 3	Virginia	        291	283		574
	Georgia Southern	290	284		574
 5	Baylor	                294	281		575
 6	Virginia Commonwealth	293	288		581
  	Colorado St.	        295	286		581
  	Coastal Carolina	293	288		581
 9	UNC-Wilmington	        297	287		584
10	North Carolina	        294	291		585
11	Old Dominion	        294	292		586
12	East Carolina	        295	295		590
13	Wofford	                298	294		592
14	Charlotte	        307	290		597
15	Maryland	        310	302		612
16	Belmont Abbey College	310	306		616
17	Akron	                304	315		619
18	Davidson	        320	300		620


INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
Pl	Player (School)	        1st	2nd	3rd	Tot
 1	Bill Haas (WF)	        66	72		138
 2	Geoffrey Harris (ODU)	69	70		139
	Steve Marino (UVA)	69	70		139
 4	Mark McBride (MU)	68	72		140
15	Brandon Knaub (MU)	73	70		143
16	Cory Ewert (MU)	        69	75		144
32	Chris Happ (MU)	        75	71		146
72	Mike Radek (MU)	        82	74		156