2004-05 Men’s Golf Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 15, 2004
Coming off a first-place finish at the 2004 Big Ten Championships where the Ohio State men’s golf team posted a three-round record performance of 842, the Buckeyes appeared to be well on their way to competing in the NCAA championships for the 31st time in program history and the first time since the 1997-98 season. However, things did not go they way Ohio State planned as the Buckeyes finished 14th with a three-round total of 918. Although the Buckeyes narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA championships, Ohio State enters the 2004-05 season with a goal or repeating its Big Ten title from a year ago and qualifying for the NCAA championships.
Returning Buckeyes
This season, the Buckeyes return eight players from a year ago. The returnees boast combined statistics of 77 rounds, 5,508 strokes and a scoring average of 71.5. Leading the way for the Buckeyes this season will be Scott Anderson, who will serve as team captain, four years after he came to Ohio State as a walk-on.
Anderson enters his senior season with more experience than any other Ohio State golfer and hopes to lead the team to back-to-back league titles. During the 2003-04 season, Anderson, competed in 33 rounds, posted 2,446 strokes, a scoring average of 74.1 and three Top 10 finishes.
“Scott Anderson really came along last season and at the NCAA regional championships he was our best player no doubt about it,” Jim Brown, Ohio State men’s golf coach said.
The Buckeyes also return sophomore Colin Biles, who a year ago posted an impressive rookie campaign as he recorded a scoring average of 74.1 in 26 rounds of play. During those 26 rounds, Biles finished in the Top 15 three times en route to Ohio State freshman of the year honors.
“Colin came along really well for us, but he came down with mono at the Big Ten tournament, which forced him to take eight or 10 days off. I think that hurt his game a little bit toward the end of the season,” Brown said. “Colin is a quality player and I expect big things from him this season. Between Scott and Colin they are guys that need to lead us this season because they are the ones who have experience. Scott and Colin have to come back and prove themselves again, but you would think with their type of experience they would be able to get back into the mix.” Ohio State also returns two individuals, in Jared Jones and Nate Strong, who both saw time during the 2003-04 season.
Zach Randol also could push for a Top 5 spot as he returns from a wrist injury, which caused him to miss most of the 2003-04 season. Two years ago, Randol competed in 22 rounds compiling a scoring average of 74.4.
The Newcomers
The Ohio State men’s golf team welcomes two freshmen to the squad in Michael Haverfield from Louisville, Ky. and Kevin Grabeman from Springboro, Ohio.
Grabeman enters the 2004 season after an impressive 2003 campaign that saw him post first-place finishes at the Kiawah Island Championship and the Optimist District Qualifier. Grabeman also posted a strong performance at the 2003 Harbor Town Championships, where he finished fourth and at the 2003 Kroger Championships, where he finished 15th. At Springboro High School, Grabeman earned all-state, all-area and team MVP honors during his senior year.
Haverfield also enters his freshman season with an impressive resume. In two years while competing in the American Junior Golf Association, Haverfield posted nine Top 20 performances, including a first-place finish at the 2002 McDonald’s All-American Tournament. Haverfield also posted strong performances at the 2002 Junior Classic at The Pines, where he tied for second and at the 2002 Kroger Junior Invitational, where he tied for ninth. Haverfield’s St. Xavier High School, twice finished as state champions.
“They are both good kids and they wanted to come to Ohio State,” Brown said. “They were both selected as All-Americans on their respective tours and they have a lot of experience, which is something that you are starting to see in a lot of high school players these days. The thing I know about these freshman we have coming in is that they all want to be good golfers and they want to play golf, which is always a positive sign.”
The Schedule
The Ohio State men’s golf team returns to many of the same locations it visited during the 2003-04 season, including a return visit to the St. Croix Classic in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. The team will not return to the Matlock Classic, a tournament in which the Buckeyes have competed in over the past two seasons.
Another change to the schedule this year includes a visit to the Gary Koch Invitational. The Buckeyes competed at the event during the 2002-03 season and finished fourth.
“The Koch Invitational has a very strong field and outside of the Schenkel it will probably be one of the toughest tournaments that we will play in all season,” Brown said. “Our schedule is very competitive and will let the team know where we stand after the fall season. We are playing in tournaments with great teams and as always seek great competition for our team. It allows us to travel to different parts of the United States, which is what we try to do each year.”
Things to look for in 2004-05
A repeat performance- Last season the Ohio State men’s golf team captured its first Big Ten title since the 1996-97. season. This season the Buckeyes will be gunning for back-to-back titles in Madison, Wis., which will play host to the 2005 Big Ten Championships this season.
Staying In Contention- Over the past two seasons, the Ohio State men’s golf team has been a model of consistency by finishing in the Top 5, 13 times. Last season, the Buckeyes finished in the Top 5 seven times including two first-place finishes, this season the Buckeyes will look to continue that trend.
The lineup- This season Ohio State returns only two individuals from the Buckeyes Big Ten championship team from a year ago, setting up the possibility of the squads Top 5 changing from week-to-week.
“We have always had good teams when we have good competition among the team and have guys that will step up,” Brown said. “We just said to everybody that they had to get better. We gave each player things that we thought they needed to improve on and we will find out at the beginning of the season who put forth the effort.”
