Washington's Kelly To Compete At Savane Golf Classic
November 19, 1999 | Men's Golf
Nov. 19, 1999
COMING UP: Washington sophomore Troy Kelly is scheduled to compete in the 25th annual Savane College All-America Golf Classic, Nov. 22-Nov. 23 in El Paso, Texas. Kelly will face off against an elite field of 24 of the nation's top college golfers at the par 71, 6,781 yard El Paso Country Club. Tee times for the tournament begin at 7:30 a.m. on both days, 36 holes being played on Monday, 18 holes on Tuesday. The two-day, 54-hole tournament is open to the public.
THE FIELD: The Savane Classic is known as one of the nation's most prestigious college tournaments, with half of this year's tournament participants ranked nationally by the Nov. 2 MasterCard Collegiate Golf poll, including Washington's Kelly. Last year's tournament winner, Jeremy Anderson of UNLV, will return to defend his 1998 Savane title. Also back from last year are two other top-five finishers from the 1998 Savane Classic, third-place finisher Ben Curtis of Kent and the fifth place finisher Eric Ecker of South Carolina.
The complete field of participants and some of their accomplishments are as follows in alphabetical order: 1. Jeremy Anderson (UNLV), defending Savane Champion, 1999 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, ranked 17th nationally (Division I), 2. Camilo Benedetti (Florida), 1999 Southeastern Conference Champion, 3. Jonathan Byrd (Clemson), 1999 Northeast Amateur Champion, Runner-up in the 1999 Porter Cup and South Carolina State Amateur, ranked sixth nationally (Division I), 4. Chad Collins (Methodist College), two-time NCAA Division III Champion and Player of the Year, two-time recipient of the Arnold Palmer Award, 5. Wil Collins (New Mexico), 1999 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, finished 6th at the 1999 Northeast Amateur, 6. Ben Curtis (Kent), 1999 US Amateur semi-finalist, Palmer Cup team member, co-medalist at the 1998 USA vs. Japan Championship, ranked fourth nationally (Division I), 7. Eric Ecker (South Carolina), 1998 Southeastern Conference Champion, 8. John Engler (Clemson), 1999 first team All-American, 1999 Carpet Classic and Puerto Rico classic champion, 9. Derek Gillespie (Arizona), tied for sixth the 1999 NCAA Championship, 10. David Gossett (Texas), 1999 US Amateur and Big 12 Conference Champion, 1999 NCAA Freshman of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 freshman of the Year, and Big 12 Student-Athlete of the Year, ranked 12th nationally (Division I), 11. Max Harris (North Carolina), tied for sixth at 1999 NCAA Championship, 1998 Palmer Cup team member, ranked 14th nationally (Division I), 12. Billy Harvey (BYU), 1999 Utah State Amateur medalist, 13. TROY KELLY (WASHINGTON), tied for second at 1999 NCAA Championship, fourth place at the 1999 Pac-10 Championships, ranked 14th nationally (Division I), 15. Matt Krauss (Duke), 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference Champion, 1999 ACC Rookie of the Year, tied for 12th at the NCAA Championship, 16. Matt Kuchar (Georgia Tech), 1997 US Amateur Champion, 1998 Fred Haskins Award recipient, NCAA East Regional Champion, and Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, 17. Andy Miller (BYU), two-time Western Amateur runner-up, 18. Bryce Molder (Georgia Tech), 1999 Atlantic Coast Player of the Year, 1998 Jack Nicklaus Trophy for the National Player of the Year, ranked second nationally (Division I), 19. Michael Morrison (Georgia), 1999 Palmer Cup team member, 20. Jeff Quinney (Arizona State), 1999 NCAA West Regional Champion, 1998 Pacific Northwest Golf Association Amateur and Oregon Amateur Champion. 21. Andy Sanders (Houston), 1999 Conference USA Champion, eighth at the 1999 US Amateur Championship, ranked 14th nationally (Division I), 22. Kyle Thompson (South Carolina), 1999 NCAA East Regional Champion, ranked 22nd nationally (Division I), 23. Ryan Vermeer (Kansas), 1999 Northwest Amateur Champion, ranked 19th nationally (Division I), 24. Chris Wisler (East Tennessee State), 1999 Southern Conference Champion, 1999 Delaware State Amateur Champion.
KELLY BIO: 1999 - Fall (Sophomore): Opened his sophomore season by winning the Topy Cup in Japan ... fourth at Husky Invitational (220) ... 5th at Windon Memorial in Chicago (217) ... fourth at Nelson Invitational at Stanford ... low round of Fall season is a 67 at Stanford.
1999 - Spring (Freshman): Burst on to the college golf scene at the 1999 NCAA Championships at Hazeltine Golf Club in Minnesota ... tied for second place overall, along with Georgia's Ryudi Imada, as both finished at 1-under 287 ... UW's previous best individual finish was 19th, by current UW coach O.D. Vincent in 1988 ... became the first UW golfer since 1988 to receive first-team All-Pac-10 honors after his fourth place finish at the conference championships ... played 24 rounds for the Huskies after joining the team in Jan., '99 ... set a school record for lowest stroke average at 72.4 ... recorded three top five finishes during the regular season, including his second place showing at the NCAA Championships ... earned third-team all-America honors.
High School: Medalist at Kitsap Amateur ... finished second at Washington State Amateur ... second at Northwest Players Tournament ... finished in Top 10 at Pacific Coast Amateur.
