Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys To Begin NCAA Play
May 25, 2009 | Cowboy Golf
May 25, 2009
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Cowboy Golf Pursues NCAA Title At Historic Venue
Oklahoma State's men's golf team will make its unprecedented 63rd-straight NCAA Championship appearance this week when it begins play at the NCAA Championship at historic Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The top-ranked Cowboys enter play fresh off their third-straight win after rolling to the NCAA South Central Regional title on their home course, Karsten Creek. OSU will be seeking its 11th national championship and first since head coach Mike McGraw's first season in 2006. The Cowboys will begin play on Tuesday at 12:12 p.m. (EST) and will be grouped with Alabama and Florida. OSU will play with those same two teams again during Wednesday's second round at 7:00 a.m. Teams will be regrouped at the par-71, 7,255-yard layout for Thursday's third round. Live scoring for the event is available at golfstat.com.
New Format
This year will see the implementation of a new tournament format. Gone is the 72-hole stroke-play setup to determine both the individual and team champions. The field will now play 54 holes of stroke play with the individual champion being crowned after those three rounds. The top eight squads will then be put into a match play bracket to settle the team champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on Friday with the championship match set for Saturday. This year marks the first time since 1965 the winner will not be determined by total strokes.
About The Track
Inverness Club has hosted eight major championships since 1920, including four U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships. The lone NCAA Championship held at the famed Donald Ross design took place in 1944. Former Cowboy Bob Tway, father of sophomore Kevin Tway, won the 1986 PGA Championship at Inverness. Tway posted a 270 total to win by two strokes over Greg Norman. He became the first player in modern history to win the event with a birdie at the 72nd hole, holing a shot from a greenside bunker.
OSU At Inverness
The Cowboys earned the first of their five victories this season at Inverness last September, winning the Ping/Golfweek Preview by a tournament-record 16 shots. OSU broke par in each of its first two rounds before finishing with a 9-under total of 843. The event produced the first of Morgan Hoffmann's three victories this season. The Cowboy rookie tied Tennessee's Robin Wingardh at 6-under 207. Trent Leon and Rickie Fowler also finished under par at 209 and 210, respectively, to finish 3-4 individually.
NCAA Rewind ... 2008 NCAA Championship
The Cowboys finished in fourth place at Birck Boilermaker Complex's Kampen Course. OSU wrapped up the event with a 48-over total of 1,200. OSU's fourth-place showing marked the 48th time in the program's 62-year history the Cowboys have finished in the top five at the event. Rickie Fowler came in as the squad's top individual, posting a 1-over 73 on Saturday for a 72-hole total of 294, 6-over par. Trent Whitekiller fired an even-par 72 to move into the top 10, tying for seventh place at 296. Kevin Tway tied for 60th in his first career NCAA, posting an 84 on his way to a 311 total. Trent Leon carded a 78 to finish tied for 64th at 313, while freshman Mark Johnson came in a stroke back at 314.
