Ohio State Eyes the Prize at 2011 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s golf team will make its first appearance at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship since 2009 when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., May31-June 5. The Buckeyes will be just one of 30 teams eyeing the ultimate prize of a national title on the par 72, 7,407-yard Karsten Creek golf course. The six-day event will be a combination of stroke and match play, and will be hosted by No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma State.
TOURNAMENT BASICS
Name: 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship
Course: Karsten Creek (par 72, 7,407 yards)
Field: 30 teams (Golfweek/Sagaran rankings, May 22)
1. Oklahoma State (1)
2. UCLA (4)
3. Alabama (3)
4. Georgia Tech (2)
5. Florida (5)
6. Augusta State (8)
7. San Diego State (10)
8. Texas A&M (6)
9. Illinois (7)
10. LSU (9)
11. Texas (11)
12. Georgia (14)
13. Iowa (18)
14. Duke (13)
15. Michigan (36)
16. Southern California (17)
17. Arkansas (15)
18. California (19)
19. San Diego (25)
20. North Carolina State (29)
21. Oklahoma (23)
22. Arizona State (30)
23. Ohio State (28)
24. Tennessee (24)
25. Kent State (33)
26. Kennesaw State (44)
27. Pepperdine (34)
28. Northwestern (49)
29. Arizona (60)
30. Colorado State (57)
Individuals
1. Jason Millard – Middle Tennessee State
2. Jace Long – Missouri
3. Lee Bedford – Wake Forest
4. Geoff Gonzalez – Cal Poly
5. Sebastian Soderberg – Coastal Carolina
6. Matt Hansen – UC Davis
Schedule:
Tuesday, May 31 (8 a.m. tee times)
Wednesday, June 1 (8 a.m. tee times)
Thursday, June 2 (8 a.m. tee times)
Friday, June 3 (Match Play, 11 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.)
Saturday, June 4 (Match Play, 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.)
Sunday, June 5 (Match Play Final, 1 p.m.)
KEEPING AN EYE ON THINGS
Live scoring for the tournament will be available at www.ncaa.com. A link to the tournament will also be available at the men’s golf schedule page on www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Follow the Buckeyes on Twitter at twitter.com/OhioState_MGOLF.
HOW IT ALL WORKS
The 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will take place May 31-June 5 and will consist of two separate parts. Rounds 1-3 will run from May 31-June 2 with the top eight squads in the 30-team field advancing to the match play portion of the event. From June 3-5, the eight remaining teams will take part in match play with the winner of each match moving to the next round and the loser being eliminated. The final match on June 5 will determine the 2011 Division I Men’s Golf Champion.
A LOOK BACK AT REGIONALS
Ohio State qualified for the NCAA Championship by placing fourth at the San Diego West Regional May 19-21 on the par 72, 7,465-yard The Farms Golf Club.
Michael Cress was the top finisher for Ohio State, tying for fourth with a score of 5-under 211. Fellow senior Brad Smith was next on the leaderboard for the Buckeyes, finishing in a tie for 13th at 1-over 217. One stroke back of Smith was Bo Hoag, the third senior participating in the Regional. Hoag’s 2-over 218 was good for a 17th-place tie. Dan Charen came in fourth for the Scarlet and Gray, finishing in a tie for 24th at 3-over 219. Zack Sobel also competed, firing a 243.
THE STARTERS
Five student-athletes will represent Ohio State at the national tournament. Leading the group are three seniors in Bo Hoag, Brad Smith and Michael Cress. Hoag and Smith have competed in all 12 tournaments the Buckeyes have competed in this season, while Cress has nine tournaments under his belt. Hoag leads the team with a 72.48 stroke average with Smith in second (72.6) and Cress third (73.32).
The final two in the five-person line up are juniors Dan Charen and Alex Redfield. Charen has competed in 11 tournaments and is fourth on the team with a 73.76 stroke average. Redfield is fifth on the squad with a 74.46 average and has participated in eight tournaments.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Heading into the final event of the year, Ohio State holds a 97-45 overall record. Of the 29 teams the Buckeyes will have to overcome, they have faced off against 24 of them and hold a 20-34 mark.
GRASPING THE GREENS
Karsten Creek is home to the No. 1 seed and nationally top-ranked Cowboys of Oklahoma State University. Former OSU Head Men’s Golf Coach Mike Holder envisioned a “sanctuary for college golf” in the 1970s and began to plan and raise funds for its construction. After years of dedication, the course was finally designed under renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio and opened in 1994.
Today, Karsten’s conditions are always challenging so that golfers can continually improve their game. From the championship, or orange, tees, the course is a par 72 and measures in at 7,407 yards long. With a slope of 77.2 and rating of 152, teams can expect to face constant obstacles throughout the event.
BUCKEYES AT NCAAS
The appearance is the 31st in Ohio State history and the first under second-year head coach Donnie Darr. The Buckeyes first-ever NCAA tournament appearance happened in 1945 and resulted in an Ohio State victory under legendary head coach Robert Kepler. The Scarlet and Gray visited the NCAA Championships nine times under Kepler and finished in the top 10 five times.
Ohio State became a regular face in the tournament from 1974-1998 under former head coach Jim Brown, reaching the championships 18 times during the 24-year span. The Buckeyes captured the national title in 1979 under Brown and finished in the top 10 11 times. Ohio State struggled to reach the NCAA Championships from 1999-2008, but made the move back to the national scene during Brown’s final season with the Buckeyes in 2009. The team finished 25th to conclude Brown’s 36-year coaching career.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
If everything holds to form, the field of 30 should expect high temperatures and sunny skies for the entire event. Weather.com expects Stillwater to experience temperatures ranging into the upper-80s with little cloud cover.
SUPER SENIORS
Seniors Bo Hoag and Brad Smith each capped off stellar campaigns as they each garnered postseason awards from the Big Ten league office. Hoag captured the second First Team All-Big Ten honors of his career after leading the team with a 72.46 stroke average. Smith took home Second Team All-Big Ten laurels and also received Ohio State’s Sportsmanship Award. The two honors are the first postseason conference awards for Smith, who finished second on the team with a 72.63 stroke average.
OPEN COMPETITION
Members of the Ohio State men’s golf team competed in the 18-hole U.S. Open Local Qualifier May 9 at the par 72, 7,228-yard Kinsale Golf Club in Powell, Ohio. Sophomore Zack Sobel and senior Bo Hoag each earned a spot in the Top 8 to advance to the U.S. Open Sectional.
Sobel led the field with a 6-under 66, while Hoag finished tied for seventh with a 1-under 71. With the finish, the pair move on to the sectional tournament and will compete for a spot at the U.S. Open held June 13-19 at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
