Oklahoma State University Athletics
Men's Golf Prepares for NCAA Championship
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Golf
May 22, 1998
STILLWATER, Okla. - The sixth-ranked Oklahoma State men's golf team competes in its 52nd consecutive NCAA Tournament from May 27 to 30 in Albuquerque, N.M. The Cowboys are looking for the ninth national title in the school's history.
Oklahoma State Cowboy Men's Golf
at the
1998 NCAA Men's Golf Championship
May 27-30, 1998 The Championship Course Albuquerque, N.M.
The Cowboy Lineup
Name Yr. Hometown Stroke Avg. Dist./Nat'l Rank
Charles Howell Fr. Augusta, Ga. 72.26 2/17
Top 10 in six of eight spring events
Edward Loar So. Rockwall, Texas 72.74 1/13
Ranked as high as No. 1 this season
Landry Mahan So. Richardson, Texas 74.76 ---/81
Two top-10 finishes in last four events
Boyd Summerhays Fr. Farmington, Utah 73.94 ---/---
Career-best finish at Big 12 Championship
Bo Van Pelt Sr. Richmond, Ind. 72.97 5/31
1997 first-team All-American
OSU looks to continue NCAA tourney success
The sixth-ranked Oklahoma State men's golf team, competing in its 52nd consecutive NCAA Men's Golf Championship, begins its quest for national title No. 9 this week. The Cowboys, who have won two of their last three events, are looking for their first NCAA championship since the 1995 team defeated Stanford in a playoff.
OSU in the national tournament
The Cowboys most recently won the NCAA Championship in 1995 and are the only team to have competed in each of the last 51 NCAA tournaments. OSU has won eight national team titles and has finished lower than fifth just nine times; six OSU players have won national titles. In addition to their championships, the Cowboys have finished as the national runners-up 13 times. During a 14-year span between 1975 and 1988, OSU finished in the top two at the championship 13 times. During the Mike Holder era at OSU (1974-present), every golfer that has remained with the program for four years has won at least one national championship.
Cowboy success through the years
Oklahoma State's Big 12 championship this season is the Cowboys' 47th conference title, and the Cowboys have advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 52nd time. Thirty-eight OSU golfers have won conference titles, and the Cowboys have produced six NCAA medalists and 119 All-Americans. In the 25 years under head coach Mike Holder, OSU has entered 350 tournaments and won 156 titles for a 44.6 winning percentage. In addition, the Cowboys have posted 82 runner-up finishes, meaning that OSU has finished first or second 68.0 percent of the time.
The Cowboys in 1997-98
OSU entered the Big 12 tournament on its longest winless string in six years. However, the Cowboys bounced back to win their next two tournaments, and a closer look reveals that OSU's "slump" to start the year was not as bad as it seemed. The Cowboys have finished third or higher in all but three of their 13 events this season, and OSU has produced 20 top-10 individuals in its 12 conventional tournaments. Sophomore Edward Loar earned the team's only medalist honor of the season when he won the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in September. The Cowboys are perhaps the youngest team in school history, with two true freshmen and two sophomores in their regular lineup. Last season, Loar became the first true freshman in school history to lead the team in stroke average; this year, Charles Howell is aiming to become the second ever as well as the second consecutive.
How they got here...
OSU qualified for its 52nd consecutive NCAA championship tournament by finishing seventh in the Central Regional. The Cowboys' qualification was in doubt until the final day; OSU was 12th after one round and tied for 10th after two rounds but made up three spots on the final day to qualify relatively easily.
OSU claims second Big 12 title
Charles Howell finished third to lead three OSU golfers in the top 10 as the Cowboys earned their second straight Big 12 Conference championship April 27-28 in Hutchinson, Kan. Howell's final-round 70 was the only even-par round of the tournament; teammates Bo Van Pelt (fourth), Edward Loar (sixth) and Boyd Summerhays (eighth) joined Howell in the top 10 as OSU won its 47th conference championship.
Head Coach Mike Holder
In the last 25 years, Mike Holder's name has become synonymous with success in college golf. He has coached 89 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.
A brief look at the Cowboys
Charles Howell Fr. Augusta, Ga. (Westminster Prep)
After Loar became the first true freshman to lead OSU in stroke average last season, Howell is trying to duplicate the feat this year (72.26 overall, 71.46 in the spring) ... has been red-hot this spring, finishing in the top 10 in six of the team's eight events since the start of the calendar year ... had two second-place finishes, at the Morris Williams and the U.S. Collegiate Championship ... also played well at the Rolex Match Play Championships, winning his matches 5 and 4, 3 and 2 and 6 and 4 ... first-team academic All-Big 12 and one of only two golfers so honored to compile a 4.00 GPA (teammate Peter Davidson was the other) ... leads the team with 10 rounds in the 60s.
Edward Loar So. Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall)
Loar began the year as the nation's top-ranked player after winning the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate to open the season and has remained in the top 10 for most of the rest of the year ... finished fourth or higher in the first three tournaments of the year ... already tied for 11th in school history with three career individual titles ... finished 11th at last year's regional ... tied with Howell for the team lead in top-10 finishes with six and is OSU's only medalist so far this year ... tied for 72nd at last year's national championship, struggling after an even-par opening round.
Landry Mahan So. Richardson, Texas (Berkner)
Though he stands at just 5-foot-4, Mahan is a long hitter ... had the best finish of his career with a third-place showing at the ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational, and after a rocky Big 12 tournament, bounced back with a ninth-place showing at the Maxwell ... also reached the top 10 when he finished 10th at the Ping-Golfweek Preview ... Rolex First-Team All-American in 1994 ... tied for 63rd at last year's NCAA Tournament.
Boyd Summerhays Fr. Farmington, Utah (Davis)
An academic All-Big 12 honorable mention student-athlete, Summerhays has competed in all but one OSU tournament this year ... recorded the best finish of his career at the Big 12 Championship, coming in eighth ... also finished in the top 20 at the Golf World/Palmetto Dunes, where he tied for 20th with an even-par 216, his best 54-hole performance of the year.
Bo Van Pelt Sr. Richmond, Ind. (Richmond)
A first-team All-American in 1997, Van Pelt has finished in the top five in three of OSU's last six tournaments ... tied Howell for second at the Cleveland Golf/Morris Williams Intercollegiate; tied Mahan for third at the ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational; and tied for fourth at the Big 12 Championship ... OSU's top finisher in the 1997 NCAA Championship, tying teammate Leif Westerberg for 15th after going 70-69 on the final two days ... has moved steadily up the national rankings and currently stands at No. 31.
Noting the Cowboys
OSU has produced at least one top-10 finisher in 10 of 12 conventional tournaments this year, and the team has tallied 20 individual top-10 finishes in all ... Although the Cowboys have just one medalist honor to their credit this season, the Cowboys have notched 11 top-five individual performances ... OSU owns a 141-35-6 head-to-head record against all opponents this year.
OSU at the NCAA Championship
Here's a look at the Cowboys' performance at the national tournament in the 1990s. Complete results and records can be found on pages 84 through 103 of the OSU media guide. Returning individuals are listed in italics. (OSU won in a playoff in 1995.)
1990 1991 1. Arizona State 1155 1. Oklahoma State 1161 2. Florida 1157 2. North Carolina 1168 3. Arizona 1159 3. Arizona State 1175 4. Oklahoma State 1163 4. Wake Forest 1180 t5. OU, Fresno St. 1167 5. Brigham Young 1185t14. Kevin Wentworth 289 t4. Craig Hainline 289 t23. Craig Hainline 291 t10. Scott De Serrano 291 t28. Bob May 292 t22. Bob May 295 t28. Scott De Serrano 292 t28. Kevin Wentworth 296 t111. David White 306 t45. Jaxon Brigman 300
1992 1993 1. Arizona 1129 1. Florida 1145 2. Arizona State 1136 2. Georgia Tech 1146 3. Oklahoma State 1144 3. North Carolina 1147 4. UNLV 1150 4. Clemson 1153 5. Georgia Tech 1151 12. Oklahoma State 1188
t4. Jaxon Brigman 282 t28. Chris Tidland 294 t15. Alan Bratton 287 t34. Alan Bratton 295 t15. Craig Hainline 287 t56. Kris Cox 301 t26. Bill Hoefle 290 63. Bill Hoefle 303 t74. Chris Tidland 299 70. Brandon Knight 308
1994 1995 1. Stanford 1129 1. Oklahoma State 1156 2. Texas 1133 2. Stanford 1156 3. Florida 1136 3. Texas 1157 4. Arkansas 1138 4. Arizona State 1164 5. Oklahoma State 1188 5. Oklahoma State 1140
2. Alan Bratton 276 t2. Chris Tidland 284 t21. Kris Cox 287 t17. Kris Cox 290 t25. Trip Kuehne 288 t17. Alan Bratton 290 t35. Leif Westerberg 290 t39. Trip Kuehne 295 t67. Chris Tidland 299 t63. Leif Westerberg 301
1996 1997 1. Arizona State 1186 1. Pepperdine 1148 2. UNLV 1189 2. Wake Forest 1151 3. East Tenn. St. 1204 3. Clemson 1153 4. Stanford 1205 4. Ohio State 1154 8. Oklahoma State 1215 t5. OSU, Ariz. St. 1156
t24. Kris Cox 302 t15. Bo Van Pelt 286 t31. Brian Guetz 304 t15. Leif Westerberg 286 t44. Leif Westerberg 308 t17. Brian Guetz 287 t47. Trip Kuehne 309 t63. Landry Mahan 299 t62. Bo Van Pelt 313 t72. Edward Loar 302
