Reifers To Compete In All-America Classic

Oct. 25, 2005

EL PASO, Texas (October 25, 2005) -- The nation's elite collegiate golfers, including Wake Forest senior Kyle Reifers, are headed to the El Paso again in November to compete in the 31st Annual Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic, scheduled for Nov. 20-22 at the El Paso Country Club.

This year's tournament features seven Golfweek preseason first team All-Americans - Reifers, Anthony Kim (Oklahoma), Pablo Martin (Oklahoma State), Rhys Davies (East Tennessee State), Chris Kirk (Georgia), Alejandro Cañizares (Arizona State) and Ryan Blaum (Duke). In all, 18 players in the field earned preseason All-America honors.

This year's field includes three members of the 2005 Walker Cup team - Davies (Great Britain & Ireland), Kim (United States) and Reifers (United States). Another four players played in the 2005 Palmer Cup - Blaum (United States), Cañizares (Europe), Davies (Europe), Martin (Europe) and Steven Tiley (Europe).

For the first time since 2002, the field also features the NCAA Division II and III national champion from the previous year. Dane Burkhart, the Division II champion, led South Carolina-Aiken to the national team title in 2005, while Colin Clark of Guilford College led the Quakers to the Division III national title.

"We really have a strong field this year," said Mark Pelletier, tournament chairman. "Top to bottom, we have 32 of the nation's best players."

In 2005, the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic ranked as the No. 1 tournament in the country, according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

The 2005 field was extended to a record-high 32 golfers due to the 45 eligible All-Americans. Last year, 29 golfers competed for the title, eclipsing the previous high of 27 golfers, who competed in the Golf Classic in 1983 and again in 1997.

"Western Refining has gone out of its way to ensure that this tournament ranks as one of the best in the nation," said Bernie Olivas, Sun Bowl Association Executive Director. "We could not put on a tournament of this magnitude without the support of Western Refining."

Six players will be returning from last year's field - Blaum, Cañizares, Tyler Leon (Oklahoma State), Luke List (Vanderbilt), Matthew Rosenfeld (Texas) and Nathan Smith (Duke). Rosenfeld lost last year's Golf Classic in a playoff to Georgia Tech's Nicholas Thompson.

The tournament, hosted by the Sun Bowl Association, is played at the Par-71, 6,781-yard El Paso Country Club.

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 Ricky Barnes (2000), Notah Begay (1994), David Duval (1991), Matt Kuchar (1999), Davis Love III (1984), Chris Nallen (2003), Jerry Pate (1974) and Tiger Woods (1995).

Alumni of the Golf Classic have gone on to earn more than $790 million on the PGA Tour. In all, 112 colleges and universities have participated in the tournament, raising more than $540,000 in scholarship money for the participating institutions.

Each university is awarded a $1,000 scholarship if a golfer from that school competes in the tournament.

Following is a schedule of events (times are MST):

Sunday, Nov. 20

Titleist Long Drive Contest (9 a.m.)

Ping Putting Contest (10 a.m.)

Practice round (noon)

Monday, Nov. 21

First and second rounds, 36 holes (7:30 a.m.)

Tuesday, Nov. 22

Final round, 18 holes (7:30 a.m.)

Trophy presentation (following final round, approximately 1 p.m.)

Previous Champions

1974 Jerry Pate................................................ Alabama

1975 Randy Simmons............................................ Texas

1976 Scott Simpson............................................... USC

1977 Mike Gove ........................................ Weber State

1978 Gary Hallberg.................................... Wake Forest

1979 Tim Norris......................................... Fresno State

1980 Jay Don Blake....................................... Utah State

1981 Willie Wood................................. Oklahoma State

1982 Billy Ray Brown........................................ Houston

1983 John Slaughter.......................................... Houston

1984 Davis Love III................................ North Carolina

1985 Sam Randolph............................................... USC

1986 Billy Mayfair..................................... Arizona State

1987 No tournament due to pending NCAA legislation

1988 Chris Patton............................................. Clemson

1989 Chris Patton............................................. Clemson

1990 Geoff Griffin....................................... Fresno State

1991 David Duval...................................... Georgia Tech

1992 Robert Damron............................... Central Florida

1993 Chris Riley.................................................. UNLV

1994 Notah Begay............................................ Stanford

1995 Tiger Woods............................................ Stanford

1996 Chad Wright.................................................. USC

1997 Alberto Ochoa............................................... TCU

1998 Jeremy Anderson........................................ UNLV

1999 Matt Kuchar..................................... Georgia Tech

2000 Ricky Barnes............................................. Arizona

2001 Brad Heaven.............................................. Toledo

2002 Adam Rubinson............................................. TCU

2003 Chris Nallen............................................... Arizona

2004 Nicholas Thompson.......................... Georgia Tech

Wake Forest Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kyle Reifers

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