Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Golfers Outlast Field To Claim 10th National Title
June 05, 2006 | Cowboy Golf
The Cowboys, who finished with a 9-under total of 1,143, were fueled by the school's eighth individual national champion in redshirt freshman Jonathan Moore, who became the first OSU player to grab medalist honors since Charles Howell in 2000.
The title also marked the fourth time in school history the Cowboys have walked away with both the team and individual champion at the event. OSU also swept the honors in 1978, 1987 and 2000.
The Cowboys finished three shots ahead of runner-up Florida, which posted the day's low round with a 9-under 279, to end play with a 1,146 total. Minnesota and Wake Forest tied for third place at 1,147.
“I can't really put it into words right now,” first-year OSU head coach Mike McGraw said. “The disappointment we felt after the conference championship was so deep, but these guys came back and changed their season by realizing you can't take winning for granted.”
For Moore, who posted a final-round 69 to finish at 12-under 276 and four shots clear of the field, the tournament capped a remarkable run to close out the season. The victory was the third in a row for the Vancouver, Wash. native, who extended his string of consecutive rounds under par to 10 and finished 34- under par during that three-tournament stretch.
“I thought the pressure was just going to be unbearable in the beginning,” Moore said. “But I just got out there and felt really calm. I'm just happy to be with these guys – they work really hard and they have great drive. They motivate me and it's just exciting to help them. That's all I wanted to do today was help these guys.”
Moore began the day with a one-shot lead over Wake's Kyle Reifers, but took control of the individual race early with birdies on three of his first four holes. After bogeys on Nos. 12 and 15 moved him back to 1-under for the day, he rebounded with a birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to seal the victory.
“It's just so great. I don't think this would be anywhere near as special if the team hadn't won,” Moore said. “That's the whole reason why you come here. You try to win as a team and if that means winning as an individual helps, that's great, but you do whatever it takes.”
Sophomore Pablo Martin posted a 1-over 73 during his final round to finish alone in fifth place, posting a 72-hole total of 282, 6-under. The finish marked the 11th time in 12 starts this season the Malaga, Spain native has finished in the top 10. Martin's top-five showing also signaled the first time since 1987 the Cowboys have had two players finish in the top five at the national tournament.
Senior Zack Robinson closed out his collegiate career with a solid even-par round to finish tied for 45th place at 5-over 293. The Ft. Worth, Texas native was 2- over on the day with eight holes remaining before posting a pair of birdies down the stretch to get back to level par.
“It's like a dream come true. It's your last college round and you have a chance to win a national championship, you can't ask for more,” Robinson said. “The whole week is such a battle. Every hole and every shot is a grind emotionally and physically and I was able to stay calm. I kept telling myself to be patient and good things would happen.”
Junior Tyler Leon saved his best round of the tournament for the final day, carding a 73 to move into a tie for 57th place at 8-over 296. The Dallas, Texas native put together a round that included four pars down the stretch to get to his score.
Freshman Trent Leon matched Moore for the squad's low round of the day with a 69 to move up 12 spots into a tie for 62nd place at 9-over 297. The Dallas, Texas native put together a round that included five birdies to give him his first round in the 60s since his final-round 68 at The Maxwell.
Following the event, Martin was named the winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award as the nation's top player and Moore received the Arnold Palmer Award, which is presented annually to the NCAA individual medalist, and the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation's top freshman. He is the second consecutive OSU player to be tabbed as the country's best freshman as Martin won the award last season.
Team Scores 1 Oklahoma State 281 291 288 283 1143 2 Florida 284 285 298 279 1146 T3 Minnesota 287 286 292 282 1147 T3 Wake Forest 277 289 294 287 1147 5 Kentucky 283 287 300 283 1153 6 Georgia 293 286 290 287 1156 T7 Clemson 282 288 296 291 1157 T7 UCLA 280 294 296 287 1157 T9 Lamar 292 283 290 293 1158 T9 Washington 281 282 294 301 1158 11 Arizona State 287 279 294 299 1159 12 Duke 290 297 284 291 1162 13 Arizona 296 283 291 298 1168 14 Texas A&M 291 283 296 299 1169 15 Brigham Young 292 298 284 298 1172
Top 10 Individuals and OSU Scores 1 Jonathan Moore, Oklahoma State 68 70 69 69 276 T2 Chris Kirk, Georgia 71 71 70 68 280 T2 Kyle Reifers, Wake Forest 65 70 73 72 280 4 Dawie Van der Walt, Lamar 70 70 74 67 281 5 Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State 66 72 71 73 282 T6 Alejandro Canizares, Arizona State 73 66 72 73 284 T6 Bronson LaCassie. Minnesota 70 71 75 68 284 T8 James Lepp, Washington 69 71 71 74 285 T8 Cameron Tringale, Georgia Tech 73 70 68 74 285 T10 Ryan Blaum, Duke University 72 73 69 72 286 T10 Billy Horschel, Florida 69 74 76 67 286 T10 Matt Kohn, Kentucky 71 74 72 69 286 T10 Dusty Smith, Lamar University 71 68 73 74 286 T10 Niall Turner, Minnesota 71 74 69 72 286 T45 Zack Robinson, Oklahoma State 72 75 74 72 293 T57 Tyler Leon, Oklahoma State 75 74 74 73 296 T62 Trent Leon, Oklahoma State 76 77 75 69 297
