May 12, 2005

LAS COLINAS, Texas - TCU junior Colby Beckstrom posted a 2-over-par 72 in his first career PGA Tour round on Thursday at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Las Colinas. Beckstrom, who is tied for 105th place among the 156 participants, recorded three birdies and five bogeys in his round at the Cottonwood Valley Course (par 70, 6,861 yards).

"It was a little nerve-wracking standing on the first tee today, but the most nervous I was all week was on the 18th tee on Monday (during qualifying)," Beckstrom said. "Today when I got to the tee box, I just said to myself `Take a whack at it' and I smoked it right down the middle. I hit some really great shots and some really poor shots. My putter was a little nervous today, but I played okay. I'm happy, but not pleased. I know what I have in me and I just have to go out tomorrow and play the way I can."

The lone amateur in the field, Beckstrom hit 50 percent of the greens in regulation and had 30 putts in his round. His score was better than both of his Tour playing partners, Dean Wilson (73) and Scott Hend (77). Stuart Appleby (63) leads the tournament by one stroke over Ernie Els (64) and John Daly (64). Sixty-seven players broke par on the opening day.

Beckstrom will tee off his second round at 12:10 p.m. (CT) on Friday at the TPC Four Seasons Course. Following the second round, the field will be cut to the low 70 players plus ties. All weekend action will be contested at the TPC, with the 72-hole tournament concluding on Sunday.

On Monday, Beckstrom became the first golfer under head coach Bill Montigel to qualify for a PGA Tour event while still playing for the Horned Frogs by registering a 6-under 65, which included a birdie at the last hole, at the qualifier. The last TCU golfer to compete in a PGA Tour event as a TCU student-athlete was former first-team All-American Alberto Ochoa, who received an exemption into the Colonial in 1998.

Beckstrom is a two-time first-team All-Conference USA selection and owns a career-best 71.68 scoring average this year. The native of North Muskegon, Mich., has a pair of collegiate tournament titles to his credit during his career, which includes a shared victory at the Conference USA Championships in April.

Meanwhile, TCU alum J.J. Henry, a former All-American and the 1998 College Co-Player of the Year, fired an opening-round 67 (-3) at the TPC Course (par 70, 7011 yards) to sit in a share of 18th place. He carded five birdies and a pair of bogeys on the day. Two weeks ago, Henry placed tied for fifth at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Highlighting the field at the Nelson are the top five players in the world rankings: Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Els, Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen. For more information on the tournament and for live scoring of the event, visit www.pgatour.com.

-www.gofrogs.com-