Men’s Golf Opens Season At Sooner Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 16, 2002
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The Ohio State men’s golf team opens the 2002-03 campaign Sept. 16 at the Sooner Invitational. The two-day tournament will be held in Frisco, Texas. The tournament begins with the team’s practice round Sunday and continues Monday with 36 holes. The tournament concludes Tuesday with 18 holes.
Sooner Invitational
The Sooner Invitational will feature teams from the Midwest and Western parts of the United States. Teams from BYU, Houston, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pepperdine, SMU, TCU, Texas and USC will all send teams to the tournament this year. Several teams in the field are rated among the Top 25 in the GolfWorld preseason poll. Texas (T 6), USC (12), TCU (20), Oklahoma (21) and Pepperdine (25) all appear in the early-season rankings.
Who to Watch
The Buckeyes will send Zach Doran, Scott Anderson, Darren Lundgren, Zack Randol and Peter Riddell to compete in the Sooner Invitational.
Last year Doran came on strong late in the season. The junior cracked into the Top 5 in the OSU lineup at the Fossum Invitational (4/27-28).
From the Fossum Invitational to the NCAA West Regional tournament, Doran was one of the top golfers on the team. His low round of the year (71) came in first round of the NCAA West Regional in Albuquerque, N.M.
The Buckeyes also will send freshman Peter Riddell to the Sooner Invitational. Riddell along with fellow freshman David Vallina signed letters of intent to play with the Buckeyes in November of 2001. The move to sign with the Buckeyes is paying early dividends for Riddell, the only freshman making the trip.
Lundgren saw limited action last season with the Buckeyes. Jim Brown, head men’s golf coach at Ohio State, is confident in Lundgren’s abilities to contribute.
“Darren put up some tremendous scores this summer,” Brown said. “I expect him to have a good season this year.”
2001-02 Year in Review
Ohio State had a rare opportunity to play in the NCAA championship tournament on its home course but missed the cut in the 2002 West Regional, finishing 15th in the 27-team field. The Buckeyes needed to be among the Top 10 to advance. Despite missing the NCAA tournament, which was held at The OSU Scarlet Course for a record 10th time, the Buckeyes managed another successful season.
The squad started well in the fall with four Top 5 finishes, including a first-place finish at the Aztec Invitational in November, against many of the top teams in the country. It was this early success that earned the Buckeyes an at-large selection to the NCAA West Regional in the spring. Leading the way for the Buckeyes was senior Doug Wade, who along with Justin Collins, played in every event and in all 36 rounds of the season. Wade led the Buckeyes with a 73.0 stroke average per round. Collins was close behind at 73.6.
Meet Coach Brown
Now in his 30th year as the Buckeyes’ head coach, Jim Brown has built Ohio State golf into one of the finest and most respected collegiate programs in the nation.
When the Buckeyes won the national title in 1979, it marked the first time in nearly two decades a northern school claimed the championship. Brown proved the 1979 season was no fluke as the program finished fourth in the NCAA’s in 1980, 1983, 1987, and again in 1997.
Brown earned National Coach-of-the-Year honors in both 1979 and 1986, and was named District IV Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons from 1977 through 1980 and again from 1982 through 1987. He also coached the NCAA All-Star Team that competed in Japan in 1979 and the 1999 Palmer Cup team that defeated a team of top collegiate players from Great Britain and Ireland.
His greatest personal achievement, however, came in 1989, when he was elected to the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. Two years later, he was inducted into The Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Brown was also inducted into the Martins Ferry High School Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Ohio High School Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1994.
The winningest coach in OSU golf history, Brown has tutored one NCAA individual champ (Clark Burroughs – 1985), 11 Big Ten medalists, 86 All-Big Ten selections, 11 first team All-Americans and 39 other All-America honorees during his stay on the Columbus campus.
A native of Martins Ferry, Ohio, Brown is a 1966 Ohio State graduate. He played both basketball and golf for the Buckeyes, earning three letters in each sport.
