Air Force Academy

April 22, 2009

The Air Force golf team is back in action this weekend, April 24-25, at the PING Cougar Classic, hosted by BYU. The 54-hole tournament will take place at the 6,902-yard, par-72 Riverside Country Club. Thirty-six holes will be played on Friday, with the final 18-hole round taking place on Saturday. Tee time is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on both days.

Last Time Out...
Competing against eight of the top 20 teams in the nation, the Falcons finished 18th at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, hosted by Texas, March 30-31.

Leading the way for Air Force for the 10th time in as many tournaments this season was junior Tom Whitney, who finished tied for 47th overall with a score of 232.

The Field...
Fifteen teams, including Colorado State, which is ranked 19th in the latest Golf World/NIKE Golf Coaches Poll, are slated to compete in this weekend's tournament. The full list follows, with Golfweek/Sagarin ratings in parentheses: Air Force (160), Boise State (158), BYU (65), BYU-Hawaii, Colorado State (21), Hawaii (189), Idaho (126), New Mexico State (83), Sacramento State (139), Southern Utah (142), Utah (188), Utah State (186), Utah Valley, Weber State (177) and Wyoming (197).

In the Conference Rankings...
Junior Tom Whitney is currently ranked in the top five of the Mountain West Conference for lowest stroke average this season. Whitney is third in the league with a stroke average of 71.50.

Meanwhile, Air Force rates fourth in the MWC with a team stroke average of 297.47.

MWC Golfer of the Month...
Junior Tom Whitney was named the Mountain West Conference Men's Golfer of the Month for the month of March after capturing medalist honors in two of three tournaments.

Whitney opened the month with an individual title at the Argonaut Invitational, shooting a then-season-best score of nine-under 207. He then collected his second straight individual title with a school-record performance at the Desert Shootout, carding a 16-under 200. Whitney set school records for individual round (64), score after 36-holes (133) and 54-hole total (200). Whitney closed out the month as the Falcons' top performer at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, tying for 47th overall.

Up Next...
Next week, the Falcons head to the 2009 Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship, being held April 30-May 2 at the OMNI Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz.

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