April 24, 2000

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech freshman Brooks Kelly (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) opened the 2000 Big 12 Conference Men's Golf Championship with a 73 and followed with a par 70 to lead the Red Raiders in the 54-hole event. Kelly is 11 shots off of the lead.

David Bolen (Austin, Texas) turned in rounds of 71 and 75 and is tied for 20th, while Corey Henegar (Austin, Texas) posted a 76 and 72 and is in 26th place. Trey Pyka (San Antonio, Texas) and Mark Hull (San Antonio, Texas) round out Tech's scoring with a pair of 149s.

Oklahoma State leads the event by 10 strokes over second-place Kansas. Texas, Texas A&M and Colorado round out the top five, while the Red Raiders are five shots back of the Buffaloes in sixth place. Tech was picked to finish ninth by the league coaches. Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State and Nebraska close out the standings, respectively.

Individually, OSU's Charles Howell has a five-stroke lead heading into the final 18 holes on Tuesday. Howell fired a 66 in the opening round and duplicated his performance in the second round. His 132 total leads A&M's Sean Gilliland in second place.

The event wraps up with 18 holes on Tuesday at 8 a.m. at Prairie Dunes Golf & Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.