12B - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
MONDAY,AUGUST 18,2003
Unknown Micheel becomes PGA champion by 2 strokes
The Associated Press
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Not many knew Shaun Micheel until this weekend. No one will forget the shot that won him the PGA Championship.
Clinging to a one-shot lead, Michele hit a 7-iron from the first cut of rough that stopped 3 inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie and a two-stroke victory, the final touch to the most surprising season of major championships in 34 years.
From 174 yards away, the ball
descended from the blue skies over Oak Hill,hopped three times and trickled toward the cup.
Michael knew it was good from the roar of the crowd.
He didn't know how good until he jogged up the steep slope of shaggy grass in front of the green and saw only 3 inches of grass between his ball and the hole. He removed his cap and waved it in celebration.
Winless in 163 previous starts on the PGA Tour, ranked No. 169 in the world when he
arrived at Oak Hill for the final major of the year, Micheal closed with an even-par 70 and won $1.08 million.
it was a fitting end to a wild summer.
Just one month ago, 26-year-old rookie Ben Curtis, ranked 396th in the world and playing in his first major, captured the British Open.
The victory by Micheel is the first time since 1969 that the four majors were swept by players who had never won a Grand Slam event.
PAST PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS
Year Player Course City Overall Total
2003 Shaun Micheel Oak Hill Rochester,NY -4 276
2002 Rich Beem Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, Minn -10 278
2001 David Toms Atlanta Athletic Club Duluth, GA -15 265
2000 Tiger Woods Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, KY -18 270
1999 Tiger Woods Medinah Club Medinah, IL -11 277
1998 Vijay Singh Sahalee Golf Club Redmond, WA -17 271
1997 Davis Love III Winged Foot Sea Island,GA -11 269
1996 Mark Brooks Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, KY -11 277
1995 Steve Elkington Riviera Country Club Los Angeles -17 267
1994 Nick Price Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, OK -11 269
1993 Paul Azinger Inverness Club Toledo, OH -12 272
Owner of climbing wall charged in woman's death at Missouri
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The owner of a synthetic rock-climbing wall from which a young woman fell to her death last month was charged Wednesday with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
Police said in a court statement that their investigation found Marcus Frank Floyd was warned last year by the wall's prior owner to replace a frayed, duct tape-covered climbing cable, and that Floyd also received e-mailed reminders from the wall's manufacturer about regular replacement of the cables.
Floyd, 30, was arrested Wednesday at his Columbia home by University of Missouri
police and was booked into the Boone County Jail, where he was held on $50,000 bond, authorities said.
No hearing date was immediately set.
Floyd owns Columbia Climbing Gym & Portable Wall, which set up the tower-like climbing structure July 14 outside the university stadium where the Mid-Missouri Mavericks minor-league baseball team was playing.
Family members watched as Christine Ewing, 22, of Jefferson City, was descending the wall. A safety cable suddenly snapped and she plummeted more than 20 feet. Ewing died the next day of severe head trauma.
"The charge is that Marcus
Floyd recklessly caused the death of Christine Ewing," Boone County Prosecutor Kevin Crane said in an interview.
A university police statement supporting the filing of charges said Floyd bought the portable wall in September 2002.
The statement, signed by university police Sgt. Shawn Spalding, also said duct tape was wrapped around the point where the cable broke and that rust was noted at the cable's break point.
"The owner that Floyd purchased the wall from was interviewed and said that he told Floyd that the center climbing cable had broken strands and should be replaced as should all the cables," the statement said.
Royals send Hernandez to Wichita
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Runelvys Hernandez, who opened the season 4-0 and keyed Kansas City's surprising surge into first place, was sent down to Double-A Wichita on Sunday
Hernandez (7-5) was roughed up for nine runs on nine hits in just 31 1-3 innings of a 14-5 loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
It was his seventh start since coming off the disabled list for inflammation in his pitching
elbow. The Royals' opening day starter, Hernandez was 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA after his first five starts but went on the DL on May 27.
Since being activated, he appeared to lose velocity and confidence despite going 3-2.
"We'd like to see him throw his sinker more. We'd like to see him have better command of his fastball," general manager Allard Baird said, "And hopefully he's back here helping us win in September."
The move left Kansas City's four winningest pitchers - Chris George, Jose Limola, Kris Wilson
and Hernandez - either in the minors or on the DL. Of the 64 wins the club had going into Sunday, 40 belonged to pitchers who were either on the DL, in the minors or released.
Taking Hernandez's spot in the rotation will be Paul Abbott (0-0), who was acquired from Arizona's minor league system this month and has an ERA of 9.35 in 8 2-3 innings.
Lima (7-0) was expected to come off the DL on Monday to take Hernandez's roster spot and start against the New York Yankees.
Jeff Jacobsen/KUAC
Golfer Jennifer Bawanan was recently named to the 2003 All-American Scholar Team. The National Golf Coaches Association made the announcement on Wednesday, marking the second straight year the Modesto, Calif., senior made the competitive list.
Women's golfer becomes second-year All-American
By Mike Bauer
mbauer@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
The National Golf Coaches Association named University of Kansas women's golfer Jennifer Bawanan, Modesto, Calif., senior, to the 2002-03 All-American Scholar Golf Team. This is the second year in a row Bawanan has made the team.
Bawanan said one of her goals was to become an All-American golfer and she was happy to achieve the goal two years in a row.
"Jennifer balances the demands
Student athletes must meet certain criteria to be a member of the NGA All-American Scholar Team. Athletes must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50, or 3.40 for seniors, and compete in at least 66 percent of a regular season's competitions
of being a student-athlete well and is a great leader for our team both in the classroom and on the golf course," said Megan Menzel, coach of the KU women's golf team.
Menzel said she thought Bawanan gained more confidence after her junior year. Menzel said the extra confidence would make Bawanan mentally stronger for her senior year.
Bawanan ranked second in the KU women's golf team with a stroke average of 79.96 by the end of last season and ranked first on KU's best finish list after winning the Lady Aztec Invitational in 2003. Bawanan scored a career-best 228 in the fall of 2002 at the Marliyn Smith Sunflower Invitational as well as scoring a career-best one-round score of 71 at the 2001 Sunflower Cup in Manhattan.
Bawanan has competed in 33
"Jennifer balances the demands of being a student athlete well is a great leader in the classroom and on the golf course."
Megan Menzal women's golf coach
events for KU, five of which were top-20 finishes. Three of those finishes were in the top-10.
Bawanan said she was excited about the upcoming golf season. She said one goal for this year was to enjoy her senior year without getting stressed out.
- Edited by Jonathan Reeder