Men’s Golf Opens 2003-04 Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 17, 2003
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Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s golf team opens the 2003-04 season in Ann Arbor, Mich., at the Northern Intercollegiate, Saturday. The event will take place at the par 71, 6,702-yard University of Michigan Golf Course, site of the 2004 Big Ten Championships.
The 54-hole event begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with 36-holes. Final round competition begins Sunday at 8 a.m.
Competing along with Ohio State will be, Akron, Ball State Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Northern Illinois, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin and Xavier.
Live Scoring
The 2003 Northern Invitational will feature live hole-by-hole scoring on www.golfstat.com.
Everyone Returns
In an impressive 2002-03 campaign that saw Ohio State post six Top 5 finishes and a record of 108-88-3, the Buckeyes enter the 2003-04 season in the hopes of building on that success.
“We have everybody back,” head coach Jim Brown said. “We have tremendous senior leadership, in Zach Doran and Kevin Hall, both are great leaders for us and they’re very hard workers, who are looking to get started.”
Along with seniors Doran and Hall, the Buckeyes also return Scott Anderson, David Vallina, Peter Riddell and Zach Randol, all of which saw significant action during the 2002-03 season. Ohio State also returns senior Justin Collins who redshirted during the 2002-03 season and could push Doran for the top spot on the team throughout the season.
Prior to his redshirt season, Collins posted 77 total rounds during his collegiate career, while recording a scoring average of 76.5. In his three years prior to his redshirt season, Collins had posted Top 10 finishes at the Aztec Invitational where he tied for second and at the Matlock Invitational on March 6-7,2000 where he tied for ninth. Season in Review
The Ohio State men’s golf team completed another successful season under the direction of head coach Jim Brown, which marked Brown’s 30th year as head coach. Led by Zach Doran and Kevin Hall, the Buckeyes posted six Top 5 finishes including their 23rd Kepler Intercollegiate championship. After the season, Doran was named first team All-Big Ten, 2003 Ping All-America Honorable Mention and Ping Midwest All-Region compiling a scoring average of 71.8 per round. The Buckeyes concluded the season at the 2003 NCAA Mideast Regional were they finished 14th.
30 Years and Counting
This past season, men’s head golf coach Jim Brown completed his 30th year at the helm for the Buckeyes. Throughout his tenure, Brown has established the Ohio State men’s golf program as one of the top programs throughout the country. Since his first year in 1973, Brown has directed the Buckeyes to 16 Big Ten titles and one national championship, while compiling an overall record of 5,108-1,315-27.
Buckeye Newcomers
This fall the Ohio State men’s golf team welcomed two new freshman to the team in Colin Biles and Jared Jones, both of which carry impressive high school resumes, and will look to make an immediate impact this season.
“They both have tremendous high school and junior golf records and they have done well in national tournaments,” Brown said. “They are our future, along with the guys we recruited for the 2002-2003 season. I think (Biles and Jones) can contribute immediately. Both are excited about becoming a part of our Buckeye golf program.”
Noting the Buckeyes
Scott Anderson … placed 10th at the 2003 Kepler Intercollegiate to help the Buckeyes to their 23rd Kepler title … posted his career-best finish at the Matlock Classic where he finished tied for seventh … fired a career low at the Matlock Classic of two-under-par, 214 … qualified for last year’s opener at the Sooner Invitational where he shot an opening round of 72, which was three strokes shy of his lowest score from his sophomore season.
Dave Bieterman … tied for 16th at the 2003 Big Ten Championships … posted his best finish while at Ohio State, during the 2003 Fossum Invitational where he finished 15th with a three-round total of 218. Competed at Wright State in 2000-01 … his best finish came at the Drury Intercollegiate (9/11-12/00) where he was fifth.
Zach Doran … was named first team All-Big Ten for his consistent play throughout the 2002-03 season … tied for 11th at the 2003 Big Ten Championships … posted another solid tournament for the Buckeyes while at the Fossum Invitational as he tied for fourth with a three-round total of four-under-par, 212 … earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors following his performance at the Kepler Intercollegiate … tied for second at the 2003 Kepler Intercollegiate with a three-round total of 220 … took co-championship honors at the Koch Invitational where he tied for first place … shot career low round of 64 during the first round of the Koch Invitational and finished the tournament with a score of 10-under-par, 206 … tied for second overall at the 2003 Sooner Invitational (9/16-17) … while at the Sooner Invitational Doran tied a course record with a 65 in the final round … that effort was a career-low at Ohio State.
Justin Collins … returns to the Buckeyes after a redshirt senior season … one of the most experienced golfers on the team … During his junior year, Collins averaged 73.6 strokes per round … his career best finish came at the Aztec Invitational where he tied for second, leading the Buckeyes to a first-place finish.
Kevin Hall … posted his best finish of the season at the 2003 Big Ten Championships where he finished tied for ninth … highlighted last season with hole-in-one at the par 3 13th hole, while competing in the Southwestern Invitational … continued his solid play at the Koch Invitational where he tied for 28th … Hall began the 2002-03 season at the Northern Intercollegiate firing a three-round score of 1-over-par 214 … during his 15 rounds of play as a sophomore, Hall averaged 75.7 strokes per round … his low round came at the Aztec Invitational where fired a 68 during the second round of play.
Zack Randol … Randol enters the 2003-04 season with a wealth experience … in his first year of competition with the Buckeyes the Lawrence, N.Y. native competed in 22 rounds, while posting a scoring average of 74.4 strokes per round.
Peter Riddell … competed in the 2003 Kepler Intercollegiate and helped the Buckeyes to their 23rd Kepler Intercollegiate title … opened the Kepler with a 76 … opened the 2002-03 season at the Sooner Invitational … was as the only Ohio State freshman to qualify for the Sooner Invitational … played as an individual at the Northern Invitational.
David Vallina … posted a opening round of 75 at the 2003 Kepler Intercollegiate to help the Buckeyes to their 23rd Kepler title … qualified for his first tournament of the season at the Koch Invitational … placed tied for 51st … was the only freshman to qualify for the Koch Invitational and just the second Ohio State freshman to qualify for a tournament, during the fall season.
Meet Coach Brown
Now in his 31st 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.
The numbers are impressive. Under Brown’s guidance, the Buckeyes have qualified for the NCAA tournament 29 times, 11 times finishing in the Top 10, while claiming one national championship in 1979. Ohio State also has dominated Big Ten play, winning 16 conference titles. During the 2002-03 season, Ohio State won the Kepler Intercollegiate for the 23rd time in the school history to give Brown 154 tournament wins during his tenure at the helm at Ohio State.
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.
Brown has long been a leader in college golf, serving as president of the National Golf Coaches Association from 1990 to 1992. He is currently a National Board Member of College Golf Fellowship, and has served on the NCAA’s Executive Golf Committee from 1990-96. In addition, the Ohio State mentor has been a member of both the All-American Selection Committee and the NCAA District 4 Selection Board.
The winningest coach in Ohio State 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. Captain of the Ohio State golf squad as a senior, Brown began his coaching career in 1967 at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., and in 1969 moved to Kent State.
Brown, who served as the head golf coach and assistant basketball coach at Kent State, left there in 1973 to become the ninth golf coach in Ohio State history. He is married to Tina Lankard and has two children, Julie, who is an Ohio State grad, and Jeff, a former member of the golf team and 1999 Ohio State graduate.
Up Next
The Ohio State men’s golf team will travel to Dallas, Tx. to compete in the SMU Invitational.
