Current Buckeyes Face Alumni in Florida – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Men’s golf reunites with past players in match-play event Saturday
COLUMBUS, Ohio After being on hiatus since early November, the Ohio State men’s golf team gets back to action Saturday with an exhibition match against alumni of the program in Jupiter, Fla. The event is hosted by former Buckeye greats Jack and Gary Nicklaus and will be played at the par 72, 7,153-yard Bear’s Club, a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course. It will be an 18-hole match pitting the current Buckeyes against former Buckeyes.
LIKE OLD TIMES
Competing for the alumni team are former Buckeye greats Steve Anderson (1990-93), Colin Biles (2004-07), Kevin Hall (2001-04), Peter Hammar (1985-88), Gary Nicklaus (1988-91) and Curt Sanders (1991-94).
THE BUCKEYE LINEUP
Competing in the match for the current Buckeyes are senior co-captains Zach Sebert and Kyle Coconis, junior Kevin Grabeman, sophomore Patrick Simard and freshmen Bo Hoag and Tanner Murphy.
THE COURSE HEAD
The Bear’s Club, site of the Alumni Match, is located in Jupiter, Fla. Opening in 2000, the private club in Northern Palm Beach County features Bermuda grass and is 7,153 yards from the back tees. The par-72 golf course was designed by Ohio State legend Jack Nicklaus.
THE SPRING SCHEDULE
The Buckeyes will travel to five states to compete this spring. Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, West Virginia and Michigan all host tournaments this spring. The Buckeyes will welcome teams as well when they host the annual Robert Kepler Intercollegiate April 12-13. A motivating factor for Ohio State this season is the possibility of a home course advantage at the NCAA Central Regional as the Scarlet Course hosts the event May 15-17.
CONTINUED SUCCESS
In November Ohio State completed its most successful fall campaign in recent memory. In four events played during the fall season, the Buckeyes finished in the Top 4 in three events and never finished lower than eighth. The high point of the season came Oct. 26-28 at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C., where the Buckeyes secured a third-place finish.
Already, they have had five individual Top 10 finishes, including four in the Top 5 after totaling eight all last season. Individually, freshman Bo Hoag tied for ninth at the William H. Tucker Invitational (Sept. 15-16) and came in fifth at the SSC Pacific Invitational (Nov. 5-7), sophomore Patrick Simard finished in a tie for fourth at the Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic (Oct. 7-8) and the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 26-28) and senior Kyle Coconis had a runner-up finish at the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 26-28).
SAVING HIS BEST FOR LAST
Fifth-year senior Kyle Coconis was one of the bright spots for the Ohio State and has become a cornerstone for the team heading into the spring portion of the schedule. After playing sparingly in his first four seasons on the squad, the Zanesville, Ohio, native broke out with a stroke average of 72 and was able to achieve both his lowest round in collegiate competition, a 68 at the Landfall Tradition, and his best finish, which also came at the Landfall where he placed second at 4-under 212.
START OF SOMETHING GOOD?
Freshman Bo Hoag of Upper Arlington, Ohio, was one of the most heralded freshmen in the country during the fall campaign. After capturing the team’s Jack Nicklaus Low Fall Qualifier award with a stroke average of 70.1, Hoag opened his collegiate career with a bang by shooting a 67 at the William H. Tucker Invitational (Sept. 14-15) at the UNM Championship Course, considered the toughest college course by many. He went on to finish ninth in the event.
Hoag concluded the fall season with another 67 in the final round of the SSC Pacific Invitational (Nov. 5-7). Combined with a 69 and 68 in the first two rounds, Hoag had a season-best fifth-place finish with a score of 204 (-12).
ABOVE AVERAGE
Four Buckeyes had a stroke average below 74 for the fall. Patrick Simard led the way at just under 71, while Kyle Coconis averaged a 72. Following them were Bo Hoag and Zach Sebert at 72.5 and 73.2, respectively. All four also had rounds in the 60’s and finished 11th or better at least once.
BUCKEYE COMMITMENT
Ohio State head coach Jim Brown announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent in November. The class includes the top-ranked golfer in Ohio for the class of 2008, Michael Kinkopf of Hilliard, as well as Gary Quinn of Anthem, Ariz., and Jamie Sindelar of Horseheads, N.Y.
Kinkopf comes to Ohio State from St. Charles High School. As the team captain, he has led the Cardinals in stroke average all four seasons. Kinkopf has won eight individual titles and was runner-up in 12 tournaments. Along with his achievements at St. Charles, he was a USGA Amateur Qualifier Medalist in 2006 with a score of 134 after carding two rounds of 67 as well as the 2006 USGA Jr. Amateur Qualifier Medalist with scores of 72-67139.
Quinn is a senior at Anthem Boulder Creek High School where he helped the Jaguars win the 2006 Arizona State High School Championship. In the state championship, Quinn fired scores of 65 and 71 to post the third-lowest winning score ever at 136 and earn first team all-state honors. The team was runner-up in 2005. In AJGA events, Quinn had three Top 5 finishes in the summer of 2007 with a stroke average of 72.75 in four tournaments.
Sindelar, winner of three conference championships at Horseheads High School, is the son of former Buckeye All-American and current PGA Tour member Joey Sindelar. A two-time captain, Jamie Sindelar has played at the No. 1 spot all four years with a high school record of 57-10. He had a nine-hole average of 35.2 as a senior. Sindelar has twice won the New York Junior Championship and finished second at the International Junior Masters. He won the 2007 AJGA Medicus Preseason Junior in Rochester, N.Y.
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 has carried 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, the winningest active coach in the NCAA, 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 was named the Ohio State men’s golf associate head coach, Jim Brown 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.
During Sparling’s time with the Blue Devils, the women’s team won two NCAA championships as well as two Atlantic Coast Conference championships and the men’s team won its first ACC championship since 1966. The men’s team also concluded two of its seasons ranked in the Top 10 nationally and finished tied for eighth at the NCAA championships in 2005 and 12th in 2006.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes return to Florida to officially open the spring season with a Dual Match against Iowa State and Florida Atlantic, Feb. 16.
