With the Big Ten title from last year and three tournament wins this season, the No. 16 MSU women’s golf team heads to Penn State this weekend for the Big Ten Championships with high hopes.
Walking by a Ping-Pong table, gaming consoles and shelves of shining trophies filled with Spartans history, Sam Puryear’s office sits with the door wide open. Upon accepting the head coaching job at MSU in August, Puryear left Stanford, a Pac-10 team that just won the national championship.
Adding a fourth win to his list for the season, senior golfer Ryan Brehm was named Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Week.
Freshman standout Aimee Neff has proven to be a vital piece of the MSU women’s golf team. Coming out and sending a message from her opening tee shot to the clubhouse, Neff fired a 69 in her first round as a Spartan on Sept. 8, 2007 at the Mary Fossum Invitational and has used that as motivation throughout the season.
Golfweek magazine announced MSU senior Sara Brown as Player of the Week and the MSU women’s golf team as Team of the Week on Monday.
With the addition of Shannon Warner and Lindsey Solberg for the 2008-09 season, the MSU women’s golf team is preparing for what could be a championship combination in the near future.
Donning green and white from head to toe, Mary Fossum stood behind the 18th green Sunday to watch a program she helped pioneer clinch another victory.
From February 2006 to the end of the 2007 season, the Stanford men’s golf team jumped from the No. 42-ranked team in the country to national champions. A key ingredient to the Cardinal turnaround was assistant coach Sam Puryear, who on Aug. 22 became the head coach of the MSU men’s golf program.
Lansing — A day filled with laughs, golf and money going toward several good causes highlighted the eighth annual Mid-Michigan Steve Smith Charity Challenge golf outing at the Country Club of Lansing on Monday. Smith, a former MSU and NBA star, hosted the event to raise money for the Steve Smith Scholarship Fund. Each year, the Steve Smith/Pershing High School/MSU Scholarship for Academic Achievement fund selects students who have come from Smith's former high school, Pershing High School in Detroit. The scholarship allows students to attend MSU without the concern of financing their education.
"It's a great moment for me, I can't believe it," Angel Cabrera said in a press conference late Sunday afternoon.
MSU senior golfer Matt Harmon was named a third-team All-America, the first time since 2002 a Spartan has received the honor. Harmon finished his four years at MSU with the lowest career scoring average (73.51) in MSU history.
"Bittersweet." It's the one word that can describe the type of season his team had, said MSU men's golf head coach Mark Hankins. After qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Williamsburg, Va., the MSU golf team's season came to an end Friday afternoon after finishing in 23rd place at the 30-team tournament.
The NCAA Division I men's golf championship began on Wednesday in Williamston, Va., with MSU finnishing the first day with a score of 283 — tied for ninth place. The Spartans slipped to 15th place Thursday after posting a 287 on the second day.
The No. 26 MSU men's golf team earned a spot in the NCAA Championships for the first time in 14 years after finishing eighth in the NCAA Central Regional tournament this past weekend. MSU finished 18-over par 306 on the final day of the three-day competition Saturday in Sugar Grove, Ill., for an overall total of 51-over par 915. Junior Ryan Brehm was the top team finisher, finishing 9-over par 225. Tulsa and Alabama came in first and second, respectively. MSU earned its first trip to the NCAA Championships under seventh-year head coach Mark Hankins and will compete in Williamsburg, Va., starting May 30.