Buckeyes Continue Fall Competition at Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Ohio State looks to build on fourth-place finish at season-opening tournament
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State men’s golf team continues its fall slate when the Buckeyes compete in the Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic, Oct. 7-8 in Durham, N.C. The tournament will be played at the par 72, 7,111-yard Duke University Golf Course. The 54-hole event opens with a 7:45 a.m. shotgun start for 36 holes Sunday and concludes with 18 holes Monday. For the final round, the 15-team field tees off at No. 1 at 7:45 a.m. or at No. 10 at 7:54 a.m.
KEEPING TRACK
Live scoring for the entire event is available through golfstat.com, with links to the site on the Ohio State men’s golf schedule at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
TOURNAMENT BASICS
Name: Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic
Course: Duke University Golf Course (Par 72, 7,111 yards)
Field: 15 teams No. 13 Duke, East Carolina, Florida Southern, Houston, Iowa, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Old Dominion, No. 6 Tennessee-Chattanooga, UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech and Winthrop
Schedule:
Sunday, Oct. 7: 36 holes (7:45 a.m. shotgun start)
Monday, Oct. 8: 18 holes (7:45 a.m. start No. 1; 7:54 a.m. start No. 10)
THE BUCKEYE LINEUP
The Buckeye roster is a mixture of experience and youth, including six upperclassmen, one sophomore and five freshmen. Competing for Ohio State at the Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic are seniors Zach Sebert and Kyle Coconis, junior Dan Rush, sophomore Patrick Simard and freshman Bo Hoag.
THE COURSE AHEAD
The par 72 Duke University Golf Course was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in September 1957. The course underwent a redesign by Rees Jones that was completed in 1994. Since then, it has hosted the NCAA championships in 2001 after first hosting the national championship in 1962. Brad Sparling, Ohio State associate head coach, will have some insight to the course for the Buckeyes. Prior to joining the OSU staff this fall, Sparling was the golf pro at the Duke University Golf Course from 2001-04 and a member of Duke’s golf staff from 2004-07.
BEGINNING ON A HIGH NOTE
Ohio State opened fall play with a fourth-place finish at the William H. Tucker Invitational, Sept. 14-15 in Albuquerque, N.M. The Buckeyes, who completed the event with rounds of 283-297-297, were six strokes back from third-place Colorado at 871. Three Ohio State golfers placed in the Top 20, led by freshman Bo Hoag, who tied for ninth in his first collegiate tournament with a total of 216 (E). Dan Rush placed 14th at 219 and senior Kyle Coconis tied for 19th with a total of 221.
START OF SOMETHING GOOD?
Freshman Bo Hoag had a stroke average of 70.1 to capture the team’s Jack Nicklaus Low Fall Qualifier award. The native of Upper Arlington, Ohio is just the sixth Buckeye to win the Nicklaus award in his first season since the award was founded in 1973. Hoag opened his collegiate career at the William H. Tucker Invitational (Sept. 14-15) with a first round of 67 and finished the event tied for ninth.
LEADING THE WAY
Senior men’s golfers Zach Sebert and Kyle Coconis were named the Ohio State team captains for the 2007-08 season, head coach Jim Brown announced Oct. 3. It is the first captain honor for both Buckeyes. Sebert, from Grove City, Ohio, played in six tournaments in 2006-07 compiling a stroke average of 76.5. While playing this summer, Sebert won the Mid-Ohio Championship and qualified for the U.S. Amateur. Prior to transferring to Ohio State, Sebert was a 2006 NCAA Division III All-American at Otterbein.
Coconis, a fifth-year senior from Zanesville, Ohio, finished tied for 19th at the season-opening William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. He played in one tournament last season, finishing in a tie for 53rd at the Kepler Intercollegiate hosted by Ohio State.
TEAMING UP
The 2007-08 roster boasts two pairs of Ohio high school teammates that will continue to play together wearing Scarlet and Gray. Bo Hoag and Tanner Murphy both played for Upper Arlington High School and led it to the 2007 Ohio High School State Championship. The duo of Michael Cress and Evan Wood helped Dublin Jerome High School win state championships in 2004 and 2005. All four freshmen received all-state honors in their high school careers.
SUMMER SUCCESS
Senior Zach Sebert turned in some stellar summer performances and is looking to carry that into the 2007-08 season. He fired rounds of 66-62 to win the Mid-Ohio Invitational in June. Along with the victory, Sebert broke the tournament scoring record by five stokes. In August, he also qualified for the 107th U.S. Amateur held in San Francisco. While he did not advance past stroke play, Sebert, who has played golf for just five years, achieved a major milestone in his young golfing career.
AT THE HELM
Ohio State head coach Jim Brown is in his 35th season at the helm of the Buckeyes. Brown, a 1966 Ohio State graduate, has established his alma mater as one of the top programs in college golf. Under his guidance, the Buckeyes have won 17 Big Ten championships and made 30 NCAA appearances with 11 NCAA Top-10 finishes and an NCAA championship in 1979. Overall, Ohio State has won 157 tournaments under Brown and he has coached 51 All-America selections.
JOINING THE BUCKEYES
Brad Sparling has been named the Ohio State men’s golf associate head coach, announced Sept. 12. Sparling joined the Buckeyes after three years with the Duke golf teams, including the interim men’s golf head coach in 2007 when he guided them to 13th place at the NCAA championships. He was the associate head coach of the Blue Devils the season before that. Prior to his promotion to associate head coach in 2006, he served as the assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s golf teams.
UP NEXT
Ohio State next travels to Wilmington, N.C., to compete in the Landfall Tradition hosted by UNC-Wilmington Oct. 26-28.
