Men's Golf Prepares for Central Regional

May 18, 1999

Oklahoma State Cowboy Men's Golf at the 1999 NCAA Central Regional
May 20-22, 1999, at The Scarlet Course, Columbus, Ohio

OSU looks to continue success at the Scarlet Course
Seventh-ranked Oklahoma State will try to extend its string of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to 53 years when the Cowboys compete in the Central Regional. The regional takes place at the famed Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, the site of several memorable OSU performances. Most notably, the Cowboys have won three of their eight national titles in 1980, 87 and 95 on the Scarlet Course. In addition, OSU won one of its three regional titles in Columbus, taking home the 1990 championship. The 1995 NCAA championship marked one of OSU's most memorable performances as the Cowboys won their eighth title by making up a seven-stroke deficit and defeating Stanford in a playoff.

The Cowboy Roster (probable lineup denoted by asterisks) Name Yr. Hometown Stroke Avg. Nat'l Rank Notable Peter Davidson* So. Hollviken, Sweden 75.33 --- Missed most of spring with broken finger

Bret Guetz Fr. Littleton, Colo. 76.67 --- Brother of ex-OSU All-American Brian Guetz

Charles Howell* So. Augusta, Ga. 71.48 6 Ranked among national top 10 all year

Anders Hultman* Fr. Gothenburg, Sweden 72.82 54 Nation's sixth-ranked freshman

Edward Loar* Jr. Rockwall, Texas 71.75 14 Five top-10 finishes this year

Billy Lowry Fr. Ada, Okla. --- --- Former state of Oklahoma high-school champ

Landry Mahan* Jr. Richardson, Texas 73.09 83 Top-20 finishes in three of last seven tourneys

Nick Seymour Fr. Tustin, Calif. 76.42 --- Filled in for injured Davidson for most of spring

The Cowboys in 1998-99
OSU picked up an important tournament victory when it won the Ping-Golfweek Preview in its first competition of the year Sept. 28-29. However, the Cowboys have not won a tournament since that opener on the site of the NCAA Championship, although OSU has finished out of the top five just twice in 11 events. Both Charles Howell, at the Preview, and Edward Loar, at the Golf World/Palmetto Dunes Invitational on Nov. 6-8, have won medalist honors during the season. Until Anders Hultman's 13th-place finish at last week's ASU Thunderbird/Savane Invitational, either Howell or Loar had led the Cowboys in every tournament this season; however, Hultman has led the team in its last three competitions.

50-plus years of history
Oklahoma State celebrated its 52nd year of varsity golf last season by winning its 47th conference title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 52nd time. The Cowboys have won eight national titles and have finished fifth or higher 43 times. Thirty-eight OSU golfers have won conference titles, and the Cowboys have produced six NCAA medalists and 122 All-Americans. In the 26 years under head coach Mike Holder, OSU has entered 358 tournaments and won 155 titles for a 43.3 winning percentage. In addition, the Cowboys have posted 83 runner-up finishes, meaning that OSU has finished first or second 66.4 percent of the time.

Head Coach Mike Holder
In the last 26 years, Mike Holder's name has become synonymous with success in college golf. He has coached 92 All-Americans, including 32 first-team choices, and his teams have won 23 league titles and seven national championships. Holder ranked second only to Kansas basketball coach Phog Allen in Big Eight titles regardless of sport, and he is one of 20 coaches all-time in all sports who have directed national-championship teams in three different decades.

OSU shooting for second in regional play?
If 1990s Central Regional history repeats itself, perhaps the Cowboys should hope to finish second at this year's regional. Twice in this decade, OSU has finished second in the regional tournament, and both times the Cowboys went on to win national titles. Here's a look at OSU's Central Regional history:

Team Team NCAA Year Site Finish Top OSU Individual Finish 1998 San Antonio, Texas 7th T19. Edward Loar 4th 1997 Norman, Okla. 1st T1. Bo Van Pelt 5th 1996 Ann Arbor, Mich. 6th T6. Brian Guetz, Bo Van Pelt 8th 1995 Montgomery, Texas 2nd 1. Alan Bratton 1st 1994 Oklahoma City, Okla. 3rd 5. Alan Bratton 5th 1993 Columbus, Ohio 3rd T18. Chris Tidland 12th 1992 Dallas, Texas 3rd T11. Chris Tidland 3rd 1991 Bartlesville, Okla. 2nd T2. Kevin Wentworth 1st 1990 Columbus, Ohio 1st 1. Kevin Wentworth 4th 1989 McKinney, Texas 1st T2. Kevin Wentworth 4th

Noting the Cowboys

OSU has produced at least one top-10 finisher in 10 of 11 tournaments this year, and the team has tallied 15 top-10 finishes in all.

The Cowboys have two medalist honors to their credit this season and have notched seven top-five individual performances.

Sophomore Peter Davidson returned to OSU's lineup at the ASU Thunderbird/Savane Invitational for the first time this spring. He had been out of commission with a broken left little finger, an injury suffered in a weight-training mishap.

OSU had a fabulous start to the season even before the school year began. At the U.S. Amateur, Charles Howell recorded the second-best stroke-place score in the tournament and then reached the third round; Landry Mahan also qualified for match play and reached the quarterfinals.

Freshman Anders Hultman has improved dramatically this spring, finishing in the top 20 in five of the past six events.

Hultman, Howell and Edward Loar each earned All-Big 12 recognition. Davidson (one of only two golfers with a 4.0 GPA), Howell and Nick Seymour were named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team.

OSU's fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship marked the first time the Cowboys had ever finished out of the top three in a conference tournament. But the growing strength of the league is demonstrated in the Big 12's league-record eight entrants into the regional lineup, compared with seven last year and six in 1997.

Redshirt freshman Bret Guetz, whose brother, Brian, was an All-American at OSU, hails from Littleton, Colo. However, neither Guetz nor current OSU volunteer assistant basketball coach Brooks Thompson, also a Littleton native, attended Columbine High School, the site of the unspeakably tragic shooting of April 20.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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