SMU Men's Golf End of Year Summary

[buckwheat]

From Coach Jay Loar to the "Friends of Golf" and other supporters/alumni.

June 5th, 2005

Dear Friends,

"The Little Engine That Could", the moniker for The SMU Men's Golf Team, ran out of steam in the 3rd round of the The NCAA Men's Golf Finals and failed to qualify for the final round. If you followed the progress of the Mustangs on the web page or in the paper you saw SMU was in 7th place after the first day and slid to 17th after the second day. Rainy weather played a part in the Mustangs round the 3rd day. While chugging along this year The Little Engine That Could won 4 tournaments, The WAC Championship, advanced through Regionals and made it through 3 rounds at Nationals before missing the cut. What a GREAT YEAR this year team had experienced. They demonstrated virtues like courage, determination and gentlemanly conduct and somewhere along the way they grew into more responsible young men. As their coach I am proud of each and every one of them. I am also proud of the job done by assistant coach Tom Harris as he brought youth, energy and balance to our team.

In the final analysis The Caves Valley Golf Club was a tremendous test of golf that did not play into SMU's strength .....ball striking and accuracy. Instead it favored the teams that hit it long and putted well. There is a saying in golf something like "there are different courses for different horses." Two weeks ago the Mustangs played the NCAA winning Georgia Bulldogs to a virtual tie at The Maxwell Intercollegiate on the fast,hard short and narrow Dornick Hills C.C. course. At Nationals they had us by 37 shots after 3 rounds.

Another telling tale of this years Nationals was that no one from SMU really played well as evidenced by SMU's low man Will Dodson 69-76-75 was T-43rd.This was only the 3rd time all year Will finished out of the top 20. Sentimental favorite senior Scott Abbott finished his collegiate career t-51st with rounds of 71-73-77. We will miss Scottie's integrity and freshness as well as his golf scores next year. Colt Knost "hung in there" shooting 73-74-77 and T75. Wes Homan played hard shooting a crucial 74 the first day followed by 77 and 79 and T126. Dan Kleckner by virtue of signing an incorrect scorecard was DQ'ed(74)-74-83. With that being said the Mustangs finished ahead of WAC rival Tulsa and all other Texas schools including The Longhorns and The Aggies. TCU, Houston, Baylor and Texas Tech never made it to Nationals after failing to advance through Regionals.

With the Collegiate Golf Season coming to a close after starting in September, Coach Harris and I are ready for a few days off and some much needed rest. We then hit the recruiting trail looking for the next Payne Stewart to lead the Mustangs into the future. The Program, thanks to your support and the support of Athletic Director Jim Copeland, finished the year at 22nd in the Nation. The team has been to Nationals 4 of the past 5 years, has 12 victories under it belt as well as two WAC Championships over the past 3 years and is recognized as one of the top Men's Golf Programs across the country. Pretty Good Stuff for "The Little Engine That Could" as it chugs along saying " I THINK I CAN!, I THINK I CAN!, I THINK I CAN!

Straight Down The Middle,

Coach Jay Loar

[Water Pony]

Thanks buckwheat for the post and to Coach Loar and the team, congratulations on a wonderful season. I guess chicks like the long ball "courses"?

[AusTxPony]

What a wonderful letter from a class coach (i.e. the WAC Golf Championship travel fiasco). I hope it won't be long until all our coaches can write letters like this applauding their charges for finishing in the Top 25 in the country. Applause, applause.

[Dooby]

With that being said the Mustangs finished ahead of WAC rival Tulsa and all other Texas schools including The Longhorns and The Aggies.

Coach knows what sells.