Fort Scott grad scores first collegiate tournament title

Joe Ida

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Joe Ida, a senior at Kansas State University and a 2006 graduate of Fort Scott High School, earned his first collegiate tournament title on K-State's home course, Colbert Hills, Tuesday.

Ida shot 70 in the first round of the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate Tournament Monday and was tied for second place with Western Illinois' Kyle Peterman going into Tuesday's second and final round. The leader Monday was Kansas' Nate Barbee, who shot 2-under-par 69.

Barbee fell off to 73 in his second round Tuesday while Peterman carded a 72. That left Ida in position to take advantage, which he did by matching Monday's 70.

His final score of 140, 2 strokes under par, gave him the title, one stroke ahead of teammate Mitchell Gregson, who also shot 70 on Tuesday.

"I practiced all week on trying to get back to basics after the last tournament and it paid off," Ida said in a press release on www.kstatesports.com. "I hit the ball a lot better this week, there's no doubt about it. When you play on a day like (Tuesday), that was the key -- to keep the ball in play -- and luckily I was able to do that."

Kansas State also took the team title with a score of 569, finishing 22 strokes ahead of Kansas.

This was Kansas State's second tournament of the season. They opened the season with a ninth-place finish in a 17-team field at Indiana Sept. 12-13.

Ida struggled in that three-round tournament, finishing 18 over par with K-State finishing ninth.