Golfer Matt Krauss' incredible finish to the 1998-99 season was rewarded by his appearance at the elite Savane College All-America Golf Classic earlier last week in El Paso, Texas.
The annual two-day, 54-hole tournament featured 24 of the nation's top golfers and gave Krauss the opportunity to play with the best in the world. Krauss finished 17th (76-76-73-225) in a field that boasts several future PGA players, including the tournament's champion, Georgia Tech's Matt Kuchar, who has made a name for himself at The Masters.
Although the sophomore Blue Devil did not place as high as he would have liked, Krauss was happy for the chance to play among the elite of collegiate golf.
"I really wasn't too happy with the way I played, but I wasn't really worried about it," the Virginia native said. "It was some pretty intense golf, but it was more of a chance to have a good time.
"It was a great experience to play with all those guys. Everyone knew there were some PGA Tour stars in 10 years there. It was a good atmosphere."
Last Monday, Krauss shot two rounds of 76, placing him in 20th place and effectively ruining any dreams of a title run. The weather was poor, with wind gusts reaching 30 mph during the round.
"The practice round before, the weather was gorgeous and everyone was ready to tear the course up; it was a big difference Monday," Krauss said. "I had a few bad holes, but overall, I didn't play too badly-nothing atrocious. It just slowly added up."
The next day, Krauss was one of the first to tee off and cruised through the round in a group of two. He finished his round quickly and his 73 was strong enough to boost him up three places into a tie for 17th with UNLV's Jeremy Anderson. Krauss' three-round total of 225 was 17 strokes behind Kuchar's winning score.
"I had no expectations coming in," Krauss said. "Obviously I wouldn't play if I didn't think I could win. But it's good just to see how I compare to everyone. The great ones do it day in and day out; their consistency is always at the top."
Krauss qualified for the invitational tournament based largely on his performance toward the end of last season. The then-freshman won the ACC tournament individual championship and finished 12th at the NCAA Championships last summer in Minnesota.
Krauss picked up where he left off this fall, carding three top-10 finishes in the Blue Devils' six tournaments. He is once again leading Duke in stroke average with a 72.8 average.
The sophomore, who led Duke in stroke average last season, says that last week's tournament will only build his confidence when he returns to action with his Duke teammates next semester.
"Those guys [at the top of the game] make mistakes just like the rest of us," Krauss said. "There's no reason why I can't be at the top with them."
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