Buckeyes Begin Fall Season at Adams Cup in Rhode Island – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Ohio State opens first season under direction of Donnie Darr, honorable mention All-American Bo Hoag returns for his junior season
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s golf team, in its first season under the direction of new head coach Donnie Darr, opens its 2009 fall season at the 16th-Annual Adams Cup of Newport/Cleveland Golf Classic, Sept. 21-22 in Rhode Island. The two-day, 54-hole event hosted by the University of Rhode Island will be held on the par 72, 7,255-yard Orchard Course at the Newport National Golf Club with shotgun starts beginning at 8 a.m. Monday and Tuesday.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Name: 16th-Annual Adams Cup/Cleveland Golf Classic
Course: The Orchard Course, Newport National Golf Club (par 72, 7,255 yards)
Field (18 teams):
Brown
Bryant
Central Florida
Connecticut
DePaul
Francis Marion
Furman
Hartford
Georgia Southern
New Mexico
Ohio State
Rhode Island
Saint Joseph’s
Southern Methodist
Southern Mississippi
Temple
URI “Blue”
William & Mary
Schedule:
Monday, Sept. 21 – 8 a.m. (36 holes, shotgun start)
Tuesday, Sept. 22 – 8 a.m. (18 holes, shotgun start)
THE BUCKEYE FIVE
Competing for Ohio State in the season opener are sophomore Michael Kinkopf, senior Brad Wright, juniors Bo Hoag and Brad Smith and senior David Becher. Wright and Hoag are the most experienced in the lineup, having played all 37 rounds last season. Smith totaled 25 rounds while Kinkopf played in 11 rounds as a true freshman. After several events as an individual throughout his career, this is Becher’s first time in the OSU lineup.
A NEW ERA
For the first time in 37 years, Ohio State will have a new head coach at the reigns in Donnie Darr. He was named coach of the Buckeyes June 13 following a national search and returned to his home state after serving as assistant coach at national powerhouse Oklahoma State the three previous seasons.
While with the Cowboys, the team extended their record of consecutive NCAA Championship appearances to 63, while placing fourth in 2008 and advancing to the match play portion of the event this season after leading the field in stroke play.
Prior to Oklahoma State, Darr gained experience as the head coach at the University of Akron in 2005-06. During his season with the Zips, he began to rebuild the program and ended the team’s nine-year tournament victory drought.
A 1996 Kent State graduate, Darr began his coaching career at his alma mater. He was the assistant coach for the men’s and women’s golf teams in 2001-02, and was promoted to associate head coach of both programs from 2002-04. Darr also served as assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma during the 2004-05 season.
ALSO NEW TO THE CREW
In July, Donnie Darr added Chris Yoder as his assistant coach. Yoder came to the Buckeyes after six years at his alma mater, Wake Forest. A native of Ashland, Ohio, he assisted under legendary coach Jerry Haas and during his time with the Demon Deacons, he helped haul in some of the most talented recruits in the country, coaching three future PGA Tour players in Bill Haas, Kyle Reifers and Webb Simpson. Wake Forest qualified for five-consecutive NCAA Championships, including a third-place finish in 2006 and two individual runners-up.
The Demon Deacons won nine tournaments the past six seasons, including three victories at the NCAA regional. In Yoder’s six seasons, Wake Forest had seven All-Americans, 11 All-ACC selections, two ACC Players of the Year, one ACC Rookie of the Year and an individual champion at the ACC tournament.
Yoder played for the Demon Deacons and graduated with a degree in mathematics in 2003. He was a four-year letterwinner, participated in all four ACC Tournaments and helped lead the team to three appearances at the NCAA championships.
TROPHY SHELF
As a sophomore, Bo Hoag collected a number of awards. The Upper Arlington, Ohio, native was named a PING All-America Honorable Mention selection by the Golf Coaches Association of America, becoming the first Buckeye to earn a spot on the team since Zach Doran in 2003. Hoag also was a PING All-Midwest Region honoree as well as a First Team All-Big Ten awardwinner.
Hoag led the Buckeyes in 2008-09 with a stroke average of 72.59 while playing in all 37 rounds. Hoag posted 15 rounds of even-par or below with eight top-10 finishes, including six in the last eight events.
WHAT I DID OVER MY SUMMER VACATION
This summer, several Buckeyes had some great experiences on the course. Bo Hoag received a sponsor’s exemption to compete in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational, the Nationwide Tour’s annual stop in Columbus on Ohio State’s own Scarlet Course. He made a birdie putt on his final hole of the second round to make the cut and finished the event tied for 61st with scores of 70-72-77-71.
Michael Cress fired rounds of 69-71 in sectional qualifying at Moraine Country Club in Dayton to advance to the 109th U.S. Amateur Championship in Tulsa, Okla. The Dublin, Ohio, native tied for 143rd with rounds of 75-77 on the Cedar Ridge Country Club and Southern Hills Country Club courses, respectfully.
Jamie Sindelar traveled across the pond to caddie for his dad, former Buckeye All-American Joey Sindelar, at the Senior British Open at Sunningdale Golf Course at the end of July. Joey finished tied for 17th in the event.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Adams Cup of Newport is named in honor of the memory of a great community leader and University of Rhode Island alumnus, Bob Adams. Adams was the president or chairman of a number of manufacturing, civic, religious, and professional organizations. An avid sportsman, he was heavily involved in the development of youth sports programs.
THE COURSE AHEAD
Designed by legendary golf architect Arthur Hills and his associate Drew Rogers, the Orchard Course at Newport National Golf Club spans almost 200 acres of former shrub and tree nurseries that offer sweeping views of The Sakonnet Passage, Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay.
The Adams Cup will be played off the Black Tees, with a distance of 7,255 yards, a rating of 74.4 and slope of 138. For a hole-by-hole look at the course, click on “The Course” link on www.NewportNational.com.
FRESH FACES
Ohio State welcomes three freshmen to the 2009-10 squad:
* Johnny Henno is a native of Solvang, Calif., and played at Santa Ynez High School.
* Zachery Sobel is from Clearwater, Fla., and attended Palm Harbor University-Medical Magnet School
* Matthew Turner is originally from the United Kingdom, but most recently lived in Dubai and attended Dubai College in the United Arab Emirates.
BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN
The 2009-10 Buckeye roster breaks down a number of ways:
* 7 different states – Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New York, Arizona, California and Florida
* 3 different countries – United States, Spain and UAE
* 3 seniors, 4 juniors, 4 sophomores, 2 redshirt freshmen and 3 freshmen
* 5 Ohio cities – Cambridge, Columbus, Dublin, Hilliard and Upper Arlington
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes travel up to South Bend, Ind., to play in the Fightin’ Irish Gridiron Golf Classic hosted by Notre Dame, Oct. 5-6.
