Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Begins Quest For Ninth National Title
May 16, 2000 | Cowboy Golf
May 16, 2000
STILLWATER, Okla. - Third-ranked Oklahoma State opens its bid for a 54th consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and a ninth national tournament title when the Cowboys compete in the Central Regional on Thursday through Saturday. The Cowboys' top two players, junior Charles Howell and senior Edward Loar, enter the tournament on hot streaks: Howell has won his last two tournaments, and Loar has six top-10 finishes and three top-fives in the team's seven spring events.
The Cowboys in 1999-2000
Third-ranked Oklahoma State is enjoying one of its best spring seasons in
nearly a decade. The Cowboys have not finished out of the top four in any of
their spring events heading into the conference championship, the first time
that has happened since the national championship season of 1991. OSU has
won two team titles this season, at the Taylor Made Red River Classic in
October and at last month's Big 12 Championship, the Cowboys also tied for
first but lost in a playoff at the Las Vegas Intercollegiate. Charles
Howell, who has won three times this year, and Edward Loar, who won the
Compaq U.S. Collegiate Championship last month, give OSU four individual
medalists this season, its most in three years.
50-plus years of history
Last season, Oklahoma State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for its
unprecedented 53rd consecutive time and finished second at the national
championship, marking the 22nd time OSU has finished in the final top two.
The Cowboys have won eight national titles and have finished fifth or higher
44 times. Thirty-eight OSU golfers have won conference titles, and the
Cowboys have produced six NCAA medalists and 124 All-Americans. In the 27
years under head coach Mike Holder, OSU has entered 378 tournaments and won
157 titles for a 41.5 winning percentage. In addition, the Cowboys have
posted 87 runner-up finishes, meaning that OSU has finished first or second
64.6 percent of the time.
Head Coach Mike Holder
In the last 27 years, Mike Holder's name has become synonymous with success
in college golf. He has coached 94 All-Americans, including 33 first-team
choices, and his teams have won 24 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.
Oklahoma State Cowboy Men's Golf
at the
2000 NCAA Central Regional
May 18-20, 2000 - Victoria Country Club - Victoria, Texas
The Cowboy Roster
(regular lineup denoted by asterisks)
Name Yr. Hometown Stroke Avg. Nat'l Rank*
Peter Davidson Jr. Hollviken, Sweden --- ---
13 career tournaments as a Cowboy
J.C. DeLeon* Fr. Tulsa, Okla. 73.90 ---
Fourth at Red River Classic in the fall
Charles Howell* Jr. Augusta, Ga. 69.93 8/5
On a two-tourney medalist streak
Anders Hultman* So. Gothenburg, Sweden 71.83 45/34
All-Big 12 first team, academic all-league HM
Edward Loar* Sr. Rockwall, Texas 70.97 15/10
Top-10 finishes in five of six spring events
Billy Lowry Fr. Ada, Okla. 75.33 ---
Former state of Oklahoma high-school champ
Landry Mahan* Sr. Richardson, Texas 73.63 ---
Regional will be his 50th career tournament
Nick Seymour So. Tustin, Calif. --- ---
Played in eight tourneys as a true freshman
- - MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings/Golfweek Sagarin College Rankings
The 2000 Big 12 Championship
Charles Howell put together one of the best individual performances in
school history as Oklahoma State reclaimed the Big 12 Championship on April
24 and 25. Howell carded a 10-under-par 200, the third-best 54-hole score in
school history and a tournament record by nine strokes, to take medalist
honors. Teammate Edward Loar was second at even par, and OSU, with a
tourney-record score of 851, won the tournament by 12 strokes over
second-place Kansas. The Cowboys' league victory was their third in the four
years of the Big 12 Conference.
Noting the Cowboys
OSU has produced at least one top-10 finisher in nine of 10 tournaments
this year, and the team has tallied 17 top-10 finishes in all. The
Cowboys have four medalist honors to their credit this season and have
notched 10 top-five individual performances.
For the first time in recorded school history (since Mike Holder's first season of 1973-74), OSU has used the same lineup for every tournament.
Edward Loar ranks tied for 10th in school history with five career individual titles, Howell is 12th with four.
Charles Howell's current career stroke average (71.35) is ahead of the school record (71.62 by Scott Verplank). His remarkable 69.93 average this season is also on school-record pace. Loar is currently fifth in career average (72.03) and season average (70.97).
OSU cleaned up when the Big 12 announced its annual awards. Howell was named the Player of the Year and the Student-Athlete of the Year, and Holder was co-coach of the year. Loar, Anders Hultman and Landry Mahan each joined Howell on the all-conference first team. In addition, Howell was named first-team Academic All-Big 12, Hultman received honorable mention.
Howell and Loar have finished in the top 10 at the same time nine times in their three years as Cowboy teammates. In those events, OSU has four team victories, three second-place finishes and two thirds. This year, they have joined each other in the top 10 four times, with two team titles, one second and one third.
OSU's Central Regional history: Cowboys shoot for 2nd?
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. The Cowboys, hoping to reach their 54th
consecutive NCAA Tournament, will also be looking to avoid early-round
worries. Oklahoma State was 12th after two rounds and 10th after two before
qualifying at the 1998 regional, and last season found OSU on the cut line
after one round. Here's a look at OSU year-by-year in the regional
tournament:
Team Team NCAA
Year Site Finish Top OSU Individual Finish
1999 Columbus, Ohio 4th t10. Charles Howell 2nd
1998 San Antonio, Texas t7th t19. Edward Loar 4th
1997 Norman, Okla. 1st 1. Bo Van Pelt t5th
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 t1st t2. Kevin Wentworth 4th
Cowboy Quick Facts
Location Stillwater, Okla. Enrollment 21,216 Colors Orange and Black President Dr. James Halligan Athletics Director Dr. Terry Don Phillips Head Coach Mike Holder (27th year) Alma Mater Oklahoma State, 1970 Assistant Mike McGraw (Third year) Alma Mater Central Oklahoma, 1982 Home Course Karsten Creek 1999 NCAA Finish Second Top Individual 5. Charles Howell NCAA Titles Eight (1963, '76, '78, '80, '83, '87, '91, '95) 2000 Big 12 Finish First Top Individual 1. Charles Howell Conference Titles 48 (Three Big 12, 36 Big 8, nine Missouri Valley) 1999-2000 Medalists Four (Charles Howell, Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, Big 12 Championship and The Maxwell, Edward Loar, Compaq U.S. Collegiate Championship)
OSU vs. the Field
Here's how the Cowboys fared head-to-head this year against this other
schools in the regional field. Numbers in parentheses represent
tourney-by-tourney results (see key below). OSU's head-to-head victories are
denoted by pluses, losses by hyphens and ties by equal signs.
Arkansas-Little Rock did not play Arkansas State did not play Baylor (+2, +9) 2-0 Coastal Carolina did not play Houston (+1,+2,-3,+4,+6,+7,+8,-10) 6-2 Jackson State did not play Kent (+2, +8) 2-0 Louisiana (+10) 1-0 Michigan did not play Minnesota (+1, +3, +6) 3-0 Mississippi did not play North Texas did not play Northwestern (-1, +8) 1-1 Ohio State (+2) 1-0 Oklahoma (+2, +5, +7, +9, +10) 5-0 Oral Roberts did not play Southeastern Louisiana did not play SMU (+2, +5, +7, +10) 4-0 Texas (+1, +2, -4, +6, +7, +9, -10) 5-2 Texas A&M (+7, +9, +10) 3-0 TCU (+2, +4, +7, +8) 4-0 Toledo did not play Tulsa (+2) 1-0 Wichita State did not play
Team Matchup Key
1. Ping-Golfweek Preview Invitational 2. Taylor Made Red River Classic 3. Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate 4. Rolex/Golf World/Palmetto Dunes Collegiate Invitational 5. John Burns Intercollegiate 6. Las Vegas Intercollegiate 7. Cleveland Golf/Morris Williams 8. Compaq U.S. Collegiate Championship 9. Big 12 Championship 10. The Maxwell
