Men’s Golf to Compete At Matlock Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 27, 2001
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The Ohio State men’s golf team heads down south again for the second Floridian tournament of the season. This time the Buckeyes will go to Lakeland, Fla., to compete in the Matlock Collegiate Classic March 5-6. The tournament is hosted by Florida Southern College and will take place at Grasslands Golf and Country Club (par 72, 7,065 yards).
Eighteen teams are expected to attend the tournament–Alabama, Florida Southern, Furman University, Georgia Southern, Illinois, Kentucky, University of Memphis, Memphis State, Middle Tennessee State, Old Dominion University, Ohio State, University of Richmond, Stanford, Temple University, Virginia Tech Institute and Wofford College. The 1999-00 defending team champion is Florida Southern College with the score of 874 and the defending individual champion is Jeff Klauk of Florida Southern, scoring 204.
Up Next
The Buckeyes next compete at the Chris Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Ga., March 24-25. The tournament will be hosted by Georgia Southern and will be held at the Forest Heights Country Club (par72, 6,945 yards). Georgia is the defending national champion with the score of 829, 35 strokes under par. The defending medalist of the tournament is Bubba Watson, also of Georgia with the score of 203.
Participating teams will be Augusta State, Auburn, Clemson, Duke, East Tennessess State, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Louisiana State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Ohio State, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes played last at the SunTrust Gator Invitational Feb. 10-11. The tournament was hosted by the University of Florida and took place at the University of Florida golf course (par 70, 6,300 yards).
Ohio State took ninth place out of the 15 teams that competed. The Buckeyes scored 281-280-283=844. The top finisher for Ohio State was Mike Austin (Sr., Burton, Mich./Flint Powers Catholic), scoring 65-71-72=208 for 15th place individually. Ryan Dennis (Jr., Stow, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) was the next lowest scorer for the Buckeyes shooting 69-71-71=211 for a tie for 29th place. Jason Oien (Jr., New Albany, Ohio/Westerville North) shot a three round total of 212 and finished in 32nd place. David Wagenseller (Jr., Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) shot a three-round total of 214 for 38th place and Chris Emanuel (Sr., Ottumwa,Iowa/Ottumwa) finished in 67th with a three-round total of 222.
2001 Season in the Buckeyes’ Favor
After a third-place finish at the Ping Arizona Invite Jan. 29-30, head coach Jim Brown is hoping the performance will set the tone for the rest of the 2001 season. “It was just a great effort and a great start for the spring season,” Brown said. “Also considering that we only played with four guys because one got sick and had to withdraw.” Although Justin Collins withdrew from the tournament, the Buckeyes went on to finish third over some competitive western schools. David Wagenseller ended the final round in second place.
Althought the Buckeyes did not stack up as well against the competition at the Gator Invite Feb. 10-11, finishing in ninth place, there final team score (844) was 18 strokes lower than at the Ping Invite where the Buckeyes finished with a score of 862.
The Schedule
The Buckeyes’ 2001 schedule will take the team all over the country and to warm climates. This season the Buckeyes will compete in the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif., April 2-3, for the first time since the Buckeyes took the title in 1997.
“I like to make sure that each team gets to go to some exciting places before they graduate,” Brown said. “I keep that in mind when I am scheduling so they have memorable experiences while playing on the team.” The Buckeyes also will play host to the Kepler Intercollegiate at the Scarlet course April 14-15.
Head Coach Jim Brown
Head coach Jim Brown is in his 28th season with the Buckeyes. He has had a longer OSU coaching career than any other coach on the staff right now.
Under Brown, OSU has won 16 Big Ten titles and placed second in the conference eight times. Last season OSU won the First Energy Intercollegiate Invitational, giving Brown 151 tournament wins in his career. Brown led the Buckeyes to a National Championship in 1979.
Buckeye History At Matlock Classic
The Buckeyes have a history of wins at past Matlock Collegiate Classic tournaments. Ohio State was the team champion in 1991 with a score of 570 over two rounds. In 1993 Ohio State finished first again, shooting a three-round total of 862.
The Buckeyes were the runner-ups to Florida State in 1983, scoring 857. Chris Perry, currently on the PGA tour, was also the runner-up for the individual first place position for OSU that year, scoring 212. In 1998, OSU was again named runner-up of the tournament with the score of 862.
Clark Burroughs of Ohio State was the Matlock Collegiate Classic medalist in 1985, scoring 205.
Sunshine Gets Buckeyes On Ohio Greens
The Buckeyes jumped at the opportunity to play golf last weekend with the unseasonal warm days Columbus enjoyed. Coach Brown said it will play a factor in how they score at the Matlock Collegiate Classic.
“We have been practicing a lot and we got out last weekend to play,” Brown said. “Anytime we can play during the winter is beneficial to our game. We are going to be a factor at this next one. Especially if we continue to play the way we have been.” Coach Brown will be taking the same five team members from the Gator Invite to the Matlock Classic–Mike Austin, Ryan Dennis, Jason Oien, David Wagenseller, and Chris Emanuel.
Austin Hits Career Low Round
Mike Austin keeps improving every year and the 2001 season is no exception. Austin shot his career low round at the Gator Invitational, Feb. 10-11. He shot a 65 in the first round beating his previous record of 66. Austin also holds the team record for lowest round and ties with David Wagenseller for the lowest tournament this season, scoring 208, also at the Gator Invitational.
Brown Approaches 5,000 Wins
As the head coach of the men’s golf team for 28 years, Jim Brown has been here longer than any others on the Ohio State coaching staff. Brown is approaching his 5,000th career win for Ohio State.
His record stands at 4,923-1,175-25. His best season at the helm of the Buckeyes was in 1982-83 when he led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title with a season record of 237-3-0.
Kepler Tourney On The Way
On April 14-15 the Buckeyes host the 32nd annual Kepler Intercollegiate, named for the late Robert Kepler, OSU’s golf coach from 1938-1965.
The Kepler is played on the Ohio State Scarlet Course (par 72, 7,251). The Buck-eyes have won the title 19 times, including six straight between 1974-79.
This Week’s Top Five:
Mike Austin
Austin is a second year team captain and holds the record for the lowest round shot this season for the Buckeyes, shooting 65 in Round 1 at the Gator Invitational, Feb. 10-11. Austin also holds the season record with David Wagenseller for the lowest tournament this season, shooting a three-round total of 208 at the Gator Invite. He has finished first on the team in three out of six tournaments.
Ryan Dennis
Dennis has played in one tournament this season and came in second for OSU, scoring 69-71-71=211 to tie for 29th at the Gator Invite. As a sophomore, Dennis was the top OSU finisher at the 1999 Northern Intercollegiate and at the 2000 Arizona-Ping Invite. His career low round of 67 at the 1999 Red River Classic tied him fo the lowest score on the team during the 1999-00 season.
Jason Oien
Oien was the top OSU finisher at the Inverness Intercollegiate Sept. 18-19 in a tie for 13th place. Oien had his lowest career round of 68 this season at the Gator Invite, Feb. 10-11.
David Wagenseller
Wagenseller has competed in every tournament this season but one and holds the record with Austin for the lowest tournament of the season with the score of 208. Last season he was the top OSU finisher in seven of 11 tournaments and was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week after capturing first place at the FirstEnergy Invite April 22-23, 2000.
Chris Emanuel
Emanuel has played in four of the six tournaments of the 2001 season. He came in first for OSU at the Red River Classic Oct. 9-10, 2000, scoring 218 to tie for 29th place overall. During the 1998-99 season Emanuel competed in every tournament for the Buckeyes and was OSU’s top finisher at five, including Big Ten Championships.
