Conners Headed To Texas For College All-America Classic
11/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Kent State's All-American set to tee off against 23 of the nation's top collegiate golfers.
EL PASO, Texas - The field has been announced for the 38th annual Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic and includes a Kent State golfer for the third time in the last four years. Junior Corey Conners (Listowel, Ontario) will represent the Golden Flashes at the event, which is hosted by the Sun Bowl Association and slated for Nov. 18-20 at the par-71, 6,781-yard El Paso Country Club.
Conners earned an invitation to the tournament by tying for fourth place at the 2012 NCAA Championships with a 1-over, 212. That performance earned PING All-American accolades for Conners, who also notched MAC Golfer of the Year, MAC Championship Medalist, First Team All-MAC and the MAC All-Tournament Team, and Academic All-MAC honors during his sophomore campaign. His 71.74 scoring average over 12 events last season is the third best single-season average in school history, behind only Ben Curtis (2000) and Jon Mills (2000).
Through four events this year, Conners has lowered his scoring average slightly to 71.67. Earlier in the season, was tabbed by Golf World as one of the "50 Men's College Players to Watch" for the 2012-13 season.
This year's 23-man field includes 15 of the top 60 golfers in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings. The winner of last year's event, Cory Whitsett (Alabama), 2012 NCAA Individual Champion, Thomas Pieters (Illinois), and second-ranked Justin Thomas (Alabama) headline the group of competitors.
Throughout the years, many Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic competitors have gone on to pursue successful careers in the Professional Golfers' Association of America and on the PGA Tour. Some of the past champions include Webb Simpson (2007), Ricky Barnes (2000), Notah Begay (1994), David Duval (1991), Matt Kuchar (1999), Davis Love III (1984), Chris Nallen (2003), Jerry Pate (1974), Nicholas Thompson (2004) and Tiger Woods (1995).
Alumni of the Golf Classic have gone on to earn more than $1.4 billion and win 589 events on the PGA Tour. In all, 144 colleges and universities have participated in the tournament, raising almost $700,000 in scholarship money for the participating institutions.
Each university represented by the Western Refining College All-Americans will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
