Men’s Golf Returns to Regional Play in 1999-00 – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 26, 2000
Buckeyes Return to Regional
After failing to qualify for the regional field in 1999, Ohio State was one of six District IV schools to qualify for the 2000 NCAA Central Regional, hosted by Southwest Texas at the par-72, 6,870 yard Victoria Country Club in Victoria, Texas May 18-20. OSU was joined in Victoria by Big Ten schools Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan and instate MAC schools Kent State and Toledo. A total of 421 participants competed at the regional. The top nine teams advanced to the championship final May 31-June 3 at the Grand National Golf Complex in Opelika, Ala., hosted by Auburn.
Ohio State shot a three-round total of 874 at the regional to place 15th in the field of 27. David Wagenseller (So., Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) led the Buckeyes, shooting a 217 (+4) to tie him for 40th place.
The University of Texas won the event with a score of 847 (-5), edging out Kent State by two strokes. Kent State’s Jon Mills was the medalist, shooting a 202 (-11), five shots better than Oklahoma’s Cody Freedman.
Other Highlights:
OSU Sweeps at FirstEnergy Invite
Ohio State claimed both the team and individual titles at the FirstEnergy Invitational in Akron, Ohio (April 22-23). The Buckeyes fired in an 869 to finish five strokes ahead of Kent State. OSU had three of the top four finishers at the invitational, hosted by the University of Akron at the renowned Firestone Country Club.
Wagenseller was the medalist, carding a 214 to edge out Kent State’s Ben Curtis’ total of 215.
Wagenseller was the first OSU medalist since Ryan Armour won the Big Ten tournament in 1998 and the 35th since 1974. Mike Austin (Jr., Burton, Mich/Flint Powers Catholic) and Jason Oien (So., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) tied for third place with a score of 216.
The win marked the 151st tournament victory for coach Jim Brown at Ohio State and the 36th different tournament the Buckeyes have won under him.
Austin, Wagenseller All-Big Ten
Wagenseller and Austin became the 78th and 79th Buckeyes to be named all-Big Ten during Coach Brown’s 27 year tenure.
OSU joined Northwestern and Purdue as the only schools in the conference to have two golfers named to the team of 10.Wagenseller’s stroke average of 73.2 over 39 rounds led the Buckeyes. He was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week after he captured first place at the FirstEnergy Invitational in Akron, Ohio (April 22-23) with a score of 214, including a tournament-low round of 68 in the first round of the invite, to become the first OSU medalist since Ryan Armour won the Big Ten tournament in 1998. Wagenseller’s FirstEnergy win capped off three consecutive weekends that saw him card his best career finish. His career-low round of 67 came in the first round of the Red River Classic (Oct. 11-12). He was top OSU finisher in seven of 11 tournaments.
Austin’s stroke average of 74.4 over 33 rounds was second on the team. His top finish of the season came at FirstEnergy Invitational, where he placed third with a score of 216. He also fired in his career-low round of 70 in the first round of the FirstEnergy. Austin was the top OSU finisher at the Big Ten Championships, placing seventh with a score of 297.
Strong Showings
In addition to the FirstEnergy win, OSU twice finished as runner-up at an invitational. Ohio State opened the season with a second place finish at the Northern Intercollegiate Invitational in Lafayette, Ind (Oct. 1). The Buckeyes also placed second when they hosted the 31st Kepler Invitational at the Scarlet Course (April 14-15). Ohio State placed in the top five at four additional invitations: Matlock Invitational (5 of 18), Marshall Invitational (T5 of 19), Fossum Invitational (5 of 18) and the Big Ten Championships (4 of 11).
Academic Honors
In addition to being named all-Big Ten for his performance on the course, Austin also was recognized by the confernce for his achievements in the classroom and was named Academic All-Big Ten.
Austin was named as an OSU scholar-athlete for the third consecutive year. Sophomore Jason Oien and Chris Emanuel (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa/Oregon State) were honored as scholar-athletes for the second year in a row
Familiar Roster
There will be plenty of familiar faces on the roster next season. Ohio State will return all 12 members of the 1999-00 edition of the Buckeyes this fall. Austin, Emanuel, Scott Miller and Jeff Olsen return as seniors. Wagenseller, Ryan Dennis, Noah Lucas, Jason Oien and Scott Smith will compete in their junior campaigns and Justin Collins, Robert Hasman and Joe Leonard will be sophomores.
