April 16, 2002

CHICAGO, Ill. - After establishing tournament and school scoring records at the ASU Thunderbird/Savane Invitational last weekend, TCU senior Bret Guetz was named Conference USA Men's Golfer of the Month for April, the league office announced today. In addition, sophomore Brooke Tull grabbed the conference honor on the women's side.

Guetz claimed first place at the event after carding an amazing 16-under par score of 200 at the 54-hole tournament. His total was one stroke better than the previous record, which was set by Arizona State's Jeff Quinney in 1999. Another of the Sun Devils' notable alums is current PGA Tour professional Phil Mickelson, whose career-best three-round total on the course was a 204. The Thunderbird became a 54-hole event in 1988 and has seen just seven scores of 205 or better since that time. Guetz bested this year's second-place finisher by three strokes to claim his first-ever collegiate championship. It was Guetz's third top-10 placement this season and the fifth of his career.

The Academic All-America nominee was sensational in all three rounds, shooting three successive sub-70 scores (68-65-67) to establish the best three-round tournament total in school history. Guetz's second-round score of 65 also ranks tied as the second-best in school annals. TCU, a storied program and a perennial top 25 team, has had nine golfers receive All-America honors since 1980.

"I am thrilled for Bret," TCU head coach Bill Montigel said. "He is such a hard worker, and it is great to see that all the time he has put in has paid off. He really put it all together last week. Bret played as well as anyone could play, and is very deserving of this honor."

Earlier in the month, Guetz placed in a tie for 24th at the prestigious U.S. Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz. His score of 222 was six-over par for the tournament and helped the Horned Frogs to a fourth-place finish at the invitational. For the season, the Littleton, Colo., native owns a career-best scoring average of 72.63.

Guetz is the second TCU golfer to win the award, joining senior teammate Steve Shuert, who won C-USA September Golfer of the Month honors after winning The Ridges Intercollegiate. The two are the only Frog golfers to win tournament titles since 1998.

Meanwhile, Tull posted her fifth straight top-20 finish when she tied for 15th at the Ping/ASU Invitational with a career-best 54-hole total of 222 (74-75-73). All 15 teams at the Ping/ASU Invitational were ranked among the top 30 in the nation.

Tull is currently ranked 41st nationally in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Poll. She leads the Frogs with a 76.20 scoring average and has three top-10 and seven top-20 finishes this season. Tull has been especially strong in the spring season, finishing in the top 15 in six of seven spring events, posting a scoring average of 76.00 in the process.