SPORTS
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
8A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
GOLF
Food poisons tournament opportunities
'Hawks compete despite illness
BY ASHER FUSCO
afusco@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
When Ross Randall took his team out for dinner the night before the Big 12 Championship, he didn't expect it to cost him the majority of his starting lineup.
Four of the five Jayhawk golfers slated to compete for the Big 12 crown in Tulsa,
Okla., came down with food poisoning after Sunday night's team dinner, leaving some doubt about whether the team would be able to play.
"I really didn't think we
didn't think could finish the tournament, but our guys hung in there." Randall, Kansas coach, said.
Kandall, Karrison
All five of the Jayhawks ended up finishing the tournament, and the team placed eighth overall with a total score of 897. Kansas was the No. 11 seed coming into the tournament, but the team edged out rivals Missouri and Kansas State.
Junior Gary Woodland was the only Jayhawk left unaffected by food poisoning, and he took full advantage of his good health. He finished tied for seventh place overall in individual competition. Woodland endured a disappointing final round, but still managed to shoot only 5-over par for the entire tournament.
"I was upset that I didn't finish how I wanted, but I'm pretty happy about finishing seventh and playing some pretty solid golf," Woodland said.
Despite feeling under the weather, the rest of the Jayhawks posted solid results. Senior Pete Krsnich shot three rounds in the mid-70s to finish tied for 32nd, while junior Tyler Docking finished in a tie for 45th place.
43rd place.
Senior Luke Trammell, who spent much of Monday evening receiving hydration through an IV in the hospital, managed to shoot a 232 to tie for 52nd overall.
overall.
Redshirt freshman Zach Pederson got off to a good start in his first round, but posted high scores in his second and third rounds to finish 57th overall.
Oklahoma pulled away from the pack in the third round and took home the Big 12 Championship. Matthew Rosenfeld of Texas shot even par for the tournament to grab the individual title.
The resilience shown by the Kansas golfers may pay dividends when the NCAA sends out invites to the regional tournament, held May 18 to 20. In the last several weeks, the team's strong play has pushed it directly onto the edge of the postseason picture.
The Jayhawks will have to wait a few more days while the NCAA lays out the regional fields.
heads:
"We could be the last team in or one of the last teams out," Randall said. "It just depends on what the committee looks at."
- Edited by Meghan Miller
Gladiator, ready?
Kelly McKee, Fairway freshman, and Sam Krause, Dallas freshman, duel outside Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house. The game was part of the fraternity's Paddy Murphy party. McKee said the weeklong party occurs every other year and includes a variety of games.
Favre decides to play again
BY CHRIS JENKINS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE — Brett Favre certainly isn't the first star quarterback to have a difficult time deciding when the time is right to step aside.
Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath are considered prime examples of NFL legends who held on too long. And Favre's fellow Green Bay Packers icon, Bart Starr, includes himself on that list.
"In hindsight, I should have done it sooner," Starr said of his retirement from the Packers in
1971. "But I have no regrets."
But Starr isn't drawing a comparison between the way his career ended and Favre's decision to return to the Packers next season, announced by the team Wednesday morning. Starr doesn't think Favre, who turns 37 Oct. 10, is making a mistake.
Favre threw a career-worst 29 interceptions last season, causing some to wonder if his skills were beginning to erode. But Starr said fans shouldn't read too much into the way Favre played last season as the Packers were beset by injuries and free-agent losses.
Favre began waffling on his future toward the end of last season, kicking off retirement speculation that is becoming a winter ritual in Wisconsin.
But the so-called "Favre Watch" grew to epic proportions in 2006 as Favre took nearly four months to make a final decision. Team officials were careful not to put public pressure on Favre, but the process wore on fans and the media.
"I've read in the media that
people were frustrated with the length of time it took Brett to come to this decision," said former Packers coach Mike Sherman, now an assistant with the Houston Texans. "Last I checked, he hasn't missed any preseason practices or games yet in the 2006 season."
It is not immediately clear if Favre's commitment runs beyond this season, although he said in a newspaper interview last month he wouldn't consider playing beyond 2006.