Killeen Leads Horned Frogs at U.S. Amateur
8/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Aug. 18, 2003
OAKMONT, Pa. (August 18, 2003) - TCU junior J.J. Killeen tops a trio of Horned Frog golfers after shooting a three-over-par 73 in the first round of the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. Sophomore Drew Pigg and 2003 TCU graduate Adam Rubinson both stand one stroke behind Killeen with one round of stroke play remaining.
The 312-player field will be whittled down to the top 64 golfers after two days of stroke play competition. Killeen is tied for 66th place with 26 other players following the first round, while Pigg and Rubinson are among 29 golfers sharing the 94th position. After playing the Oakmont Country Club course on Monday, all three TCU golfers will play the Pittsburgh Field Club links on Tuesday. Nineteen of the top 21 scores from the first day of play came on the Pittsburgh Field Club course. Killeen's score ranked 14th among the 156 golfers who played Oakmont, the site of four U.S. Open Championships.
TCU has never had two golfers advance to the U.S. Amateur match play in the same year. The last Frog golfer to reach the final 64 was Andy Doeden, who advanced to the round of 32 in 2001.
"These guys are all in contention after one round," TCU head coach Bill Montigel said. "You can't win the event on the first day, but you definitely can shoot your way out of the tournament. There's a lot of golf left, and hopefully, each of them can put together another good round."
Killeen, from Lubbock, earned a spot in the field after claiming victory at the U.S. Amateur qualifier in Amarillo. His Monday card included three birdies and six bogies. Killeen has enjoyed two impressive seasons with the Horned Frogs, helping the squad to back-to-back conference titles.
The 2002 Conference USA Co-Freshman of the Year owns a career scoring average of 73.78 in 24 career tournaments. He had one top-10 and three top-20 finishes during his sophomore season after grabbing four top-20s as a freshman. His best finish to date is a tie for sixth at the Prestige at PGA West last November. Killeen, who attended Coronado High School, is a former Texas Class 5A state champion.
After a five-over-par 40 on the way out, Pigg fired a one-under-par 34 on his second nine holes to scoot up the leaderboard. The Plano native had a pair of birdies and just one bogey on the back nine. Pigg made the Amateur after tying for second place in his qualifier, which was played at the Gentle Creek Golf Course in Prosper, Texas. He appeared in three collegiate tournaments as a true freshman in 2002-03, and carried a 77.56 scoring average with a low round of 70.
Pigg, who graduated from Plano West, was a two-time American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) All-American. He placed third at the 2001 Texas State Tournament and was runner-up at the 2002 Championships.
Rubinson, a two-time All-American and three-time all-conference performer with the Horned Frogs, played even-par golf on the front side and was four-over-par on his last nine holes. The Fort Worth native earned his spot after placing third at the Trophy Club qualifier with a two-round 139. He later was issued an automatic berth after being selected by the U.S. Golf Association Executive Committee to represent the United States at this year's Walker Cup competition.
The 23-year-old Rubinson, the runner-up at the 2002 NCAA Championships, has enjoyed an outstanding summer competing as an amateur. He tied for 10th at Sunnehanna, was fifth at the Northeast Amateur, won the Rice Planters Amateur and was a semifinalist at the Western Amateur. Rubinson is currently rated seventh in the Golfweek/Titleist Men's Amateur Rankings.
Match play begins on Wednesday, Aug. 20 and will conclude on Sunday, Aug. 24 with the championship match. For more information, visit the official website of the U.S. Amateur: www.usamateur.com.
