Butler Finishes Tenth At Greg Palmer Eagle Classic

April 16, 2002

It took more than a month, but Butler finally opened its spring men's golf schedule with a tenth place finish at the Greg Palmer Eagle Classic, played at Eagle Trace Golf Club in Morehead, Ky., on April 15-16. The meet was the first for the Bulldogs since returning from a spring break trip to Florida in early March.

Eastern Kentucky won the 15-team tournament with a 54-hole score of 856. The Colonels set a new tournament record with rounds of 284, 279 and 293. Wright State placed runner-up in the meet with a final score of 873. The Bulldogs posted rounds of 305, 294 and 307, to finish 11 strokes behind ninth-place Detroit.

Brad Morris of Eastern Kentucky captured medalist honors in the tournament with rounds of 68, 69 and 72 for a final score of 209. John Schones of Wright State finished one stroke behind in second place.

Juniors Jeff Chapman and Brian Couzens led Butler in scoring with 54-hole totals of 220. The two joined four other golfers in a tie for 19th place in the 94-player field. Chapman, who was participating as a Butler "team" member, posted rounds of 75, 71, and 74, while Couzens, who was playing as an "individual" carded rounds of 71, 74, and 75.

Butler's other "team" members were Jonathan Novak (224), Michael Heston (229), Colin Christie (233) and Kevin Klausing (253).

The Bulldogs had not played a competitive match since March 12. Butler lost its first two regularly-scheduled spring matches to inclement weather.

FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Eastern Kentucky 856 (284-279-293), 2. Wright State 868 (280-300-288), 3. Tennessee Tech 873 (284-294-295), 4. Morehead State 874 (289-295-290), 5. Lipscomb 883 (290-293-300), 6-T. Bellarmine 886 (287-300-299), 6-T. Cleveland State 886 (297-296-293), 8. Southern Illinois 894 (308-295-291), 9. Detroit 895 (d301-298-296), 10. BUTLER 906 (305-294-307), 11. Lewis 913 (310-304-299), 12. Youngstown State 915 (304-309-302), 13. Southern Indiana 916 (299-296-321), 14. Loyola 933 (315-306-312), 15. Kentucky State 959 (319-318-322).

BUTLER TEAM SCORES: 19-T. Jeff Chapman 220 (75-71-74), 34-T. Jonathan Novak 224 (76-67-81), 57-T. Michael Heston 229 (79-73-77), 68-T. Colin Christie 233 (75-83-75), 92. Kevin Klausing 253 (82-84-87).

BUTLER INDIVIDUAL SCORES: 19-T. Brian Couzens 220 (71-74-75), 47-T. Andrew Ellsbury 226 (74-77-75), 55-T. Scott Luc 228 (75-79-74), 61-T. Mitch Foss 230 (74-76-80), 64-T. Chris Cirmotich 231 (79-75-77).