96.9 The Jock ESPN Radio Springfield Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. – It’s been quite the year for former Missouri Tigers on the biggest stages in their respective sports. Last fall, when the Texas Rangers won their first World Series, Mizzou became the only college program to boast a former student-athlete on the three reigning champions in the NFL, NBA and MLB. Nick Bolton won a ring with the Kansas City Chiefs – then won another Super Bowl this past season. Michael Porter Jr. was crowned an NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets. And Max Scherzer won his second World Series, this time as a member of the Rangers’ staff.
On the golf course, another former Tiger raised a trophy, too. And it might be the sweetest story of them all.
Peter Malnati, a decorated Mizzou golfer more than a decade ago, won for the second time on the PGA Tour on March 24 at the Valspar Championship, a 2-stroke win that earned him more than $1.5 million in prize money. Malnati, 36, turned professional in 2009, earned his first PGA Tour victory in 2015 at the Sanderson Farms Championship then waited nearly nine years for win No. 2 last month in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Under his signature Titleist bucket hat and holding his son, Hatcher, Malnati delivered one of the feelgood moments of the 2024 sports calendar with his emotional post-victory interview just off the 18th green.
“You wonder if you’re ever going to do it again.”
The emotions come out as @PeterMalnati reflects on his second TOUR win @ValsparChamp. pic.twitter.com/Oc1ehqwjZ2
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2024
There’s another payoff for Malnati’s big win: a MAJOR payoff. With the victory, he’s invited to play in next week’s Masters Tournament, the first for Malnati. First-round tee times will be announced Monday. Malnati has played in three Major championships as a professional, the 2016 PGA Championship and in 2021 the U.S. Open and the PGA. He’s never made the cut in a Major. Minutes after winning the Valspar, he was already savoring the opportunity to play in Augusta.
“You know, I got asked a lot when I was a kid, ‘My uncle has tickets to the Masters, do you want to come? My friend has tickets to the Masters, do you want to come?’ And I always said, ‘No, I don’t want to go watch people play golf. That doesn’t sound fun.’ So I didn’t go.
“And then as I became a PGA Tour member and played on the PGA Tour, became a winner on the PGA Tour, I would occasionally meet the right person who would say, ‘Hey, do you want to come play Augusta?’ I was like, ‘No. … I want to go play Augusta when I’m in the Masters. That’s when I want to go play Augusta.’
“I’ll probably accept that invitation and go play the Masters,” he deadpanned while laughing, “which will be really, really … the realization of another childhood dream.”
“MIZZOU STORYTELLERS”
Sticking with the golf theme, on this week’s “Mizzou Storytellers” podcast, Nikki Barry and I visited with Mizzou men’s golf coach Glen Millican, a Texas native who spent three decades as a player and coach at University of New Mexico before taking over Mizzou’s program in 2023. Glen shares how his father taught him the game of golf in Texas and how a recruiting visit to Albuquerque led to nearly 30 years on the school’s campus as part of its storied golf tradition. Glen, who’s still chasing his dad’s five career hole-in-ones, tells stories about the favorite courses he’s played around the world, teaching the game’s mental approach, coaching Mizzou star Jack Lundin and family road trips with Taylor Swift. Nikki and I later answer fan questions and decide on which Hollywood stars would be cast in a movie about Mizzou Athletics. You can find the episode on your favorite podcast feed, including Amazon, Apple and Spotify or listen here:
Last week, we opened the “Storytellers” studio to Mizzou marketing maestro Tony Daniel. Our department’s resident QB — also known as Associate AD for Marketing/Fan Experience — shared his journey from the Elite 11 quarterback camp circuit to Mizzou’s Senior Leadership Team and all the interesting stops in between. Check it out at Amazon, Apple and Spotify or below.
TRENDING UP
1. The Tiger Scholarship Fund reeled in a big catch recently: Chris Roseman, longtime executive with the St. Louis Sports Commission, is TSF’s new St. Louis Regional Development Officer. Roseman, who had served as the St. Louis Sports Commission’s Executive Vice President since 2000, leading efforts to secure and produce major events in the St. Louis region, will continue to work from St. Louis.
“When the opportunity to add a talent like Chris to our team came about, I was so excited about the impact it would have on the Tiger Scholarship Fund and our current and future funding initiatives,” said Associate Director of Athletics for Development and Strategic Initiatives Blair DeBord. “Not only does Chris bring a wealth of experience in driving revenue in the sports world through his leadership with the St. Louis Sports Commission, he also brings a lifetime of knowledge relative to the St. Louis community at large. As we continue to target growth for Mizzou Athletics in St. Louis, there is no better fit than Chris.”
Among the countless events Roseman managed through the Sports Commission: NCAA men’s & women’s Final Fours, nine NCAA Wrestling Championships, the NCAA Frozen Four, multiple USA Gymnastics Championships, U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the SEC Men’s Basketball Championship, along with the Mizzou-Illinois football series, this past year’s Mizzou to the Lou Series, the 2009 MLB All-Star Game, the 2019 St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Street Festival and the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.
“After working alongside Mizzou for the last 24 years at the St. Louis Sports Commission on memorable events like the Mizzou-Illinois football series, numerous NCAA Championships and Mizzou to the Lou, I am thrilled to join Mizzou Athletics to continue the momentum and build on St. Louis’ passion for Mizzou sports,” Roseman said. “As a native St. Louisan, I see every day how important Mizzou Athletics is to our region and look forward to working with more than 72,000 Mizzou alumni and the growing number of fans to support our student-athletes’ experience and be part of the team to help Mizzou successfully compete in the SEC and the NCAA.”
2. Gymnastics: Fresh off posting their best team score in a conference championship event, the No. 13 Tigers head to Gainesville, Florida for Friday’s NCAA Regional. The Tigers will compete alongside No. 4 Florida, No. 20 Georgia and Iowa State. The top two teams from the second-round quad meet will advance to Sunday’s regional final. The Tigers will begin their session on the floor exercise, one of their strongest events all season. Mizzou’s floor contingent, known as The Fab Floor, is ranked No. 8 nationally with a 49.575 National Qualifying Score — the program’s highest single-season NQS floor score in team history.
“You have to get off to a pretty solid start regardless of the event, but I do think we can capitalize on floor being a very steady solid event for us,” Tigers coach Shannon Welker said this week. “And really we talked about setting the tone with that event. We feel like we can go out and and do a great job there and really set the bar for not only our competition but for other teams that have to go to floor after us. Because we do feel like we are one of the best teams if not the best team in that regional on that event.”
If you missed the news last week, Mizzou produced program-record three WCGA Regular Season All-Americans: Sienna Schreiber (first-team beam), Jocelyn Moore (second-team floor) and Mara Titarsolej (second-team bars).
3. Mizzou’s NFL draft class: Can the Tigers break the program record with eight NFL draft picks? ESPN’s Matt Miller seems to think so. The draft analyst recently released his seven-round mock draft and had eight Tigers being selected:
Second round
36. Washington Commanders: Darius Robinson, DL
41. Green Bay Packers: Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB
Third Round
84. Indianapolis Colts: Kris Abrams-Draine, CB
Fourth Round
116. Jacksonville Jaguars: Javon Foster, OT
Fifth Round
140. Los Angeles Chargers: Jaylon Carlies, S
156: Cleveland Browns: Ty’Ron Hopper, LB
Sixth Round
200: Buffalo Bills: Cody Schrader, RB
Seventh Round
254: Los Angeles Rams: Harrison Mevis, PK
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Sixty-five years ago this week, Mizzou’s baseball program was on the move, literally. Here’s more from resident historian Bob Brendel:
“Missouri baseball’s home for most of the first half of the 20th Century was Rollins Field, adjacent to the football stadium and the site of today’s Stankowski Field in the center of campus. Following the 1958 season, during which the Tigers finished second at the College World Series, the wooden-covered grandstand, which had stood in place since 1911, was moved to the current site of Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field. At the new site, on April 3-4, 1959, Mizzou opened the home slate by whitewashing the Arkansas Razorbacks, 11-0 and 13-0. They posted a perfect 12-0 home record that season. The green wooden grandstand stood until 1983 when it was demolished in favor of ‘temporary’ aluminum bleachers and a ‘temporary’ pressbox/restrooms/concessions building. Lights were added for the 1984 season. The temporary facilities remained until the new Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field was built in 1999 and debuted for the 2000 campaign.”
TIGER TRIVIA
Q: Jack Lundin has won three golf tournaments over his career at Mizzou heading into next week’ Tiger Intercollegiate at The Club at Old Hawthorne. Which Mizzou men’s golfer holds the career record for tournament victories?
LOOKING AHEAD
Friday, April 5
Tennis vs. Texas A&M, 2 p.m.
No. 11 Softball at No. 19 Arkansas, 5 p.m., SEC Network+ (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
No. 13 Gymnastics at NCAA Regional, 6 p.m., ESPN+ (Gainesville, Florida)
Baseball vs. Florida, 6 p.m., SEC Network+
Saturday, April 6
Volleyball vs. Creighton, 10:15 a.m. (Kansas City)
Volleyball vs. Rockhurst, 11:30 a.m. (Kansas City)
Volleyball vs. Wichita State, 1 p.m. (Kansas City)
Volleyball vs. Kansas City, 2:15 p.m. (Kansas City)
No. 11 Softball at No. 19 Arkansas, Noon, SEC Network+ (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Baseball vs. Florida, 3 pm., SEC Network+
Sunday, April 7
Tennis vs. LSU, 10 a.m.
Soccer vs. Iowa, 10 a.m.
Baseball vs. Florida, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
No. 11 Softball at No. 19 Arkansas, 2 p.m., SEC Network+ (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Tennis vs. St. Louis University, 3 p.m.
No. 13 Gymnastics at NCAA Regional, 4 p.m., ESPN+ (Gainesville, Florida)
Monday, April 8
Men’s Golf at Tiger Intercollegiate at The Club at Old Hawthorne
Tuesday, April 9
Men’s Golf at Tiger Intercollegiate at The Club at Old Hawthorne
Baseball vs. SIUE, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, April 10
Softball at Drake, 4 p.m. (Des Moines, Iowa)
Thursday, April 11
Baseball at Georgia, 6 p.m. SEC Network (Athens, Georgia)
Mizzou Take Home Tour, 6 p.m. (Sedalia)
Friday, April 12
Women’s Golf at SEC Championship (Belleair, Florida0
Track and Field at Bryan Clay Invitational (Azusa, California)
Track and Field at Beach Invitational (Long Beach, California)
Tennis at Mississippi, 3 p.m. (Oxford, Mississippi)
Baseball at Georgia, 5 p.m., SEC Network+ (Athens, Georgia)
No. 11 Softball vs. No. 14 Florida, 5 p.m., SEC Network+
TIGER TRIVIA
A: Jace Long won 10 events for the Tigers from 2010 to 2013.
GET YOUR 2024 SEASON TICKETS NOW
Mizzou opens the 2024 football season Aug. 31 against Murray State at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers also host home games against Southeastern Conference opponents Vanderbilt, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arkansas, plus nonconference contests against Buffalo and Boston College. Purchase your 2024 season tickets now by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or buying online.
Those interested in learning how to support Mizzou Athletics can contact the Tiger Scholarship Fund Office at 573-882-0704 and visit www.tsfmizzou.com.
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For all the latest information on Mizzou Athletics, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram and Facebook.
