Oklahoma State’s Fowler and Duke’s Blumenherst Top Magazine’s Lists of Players to Watch
NEW YORK, NY-Golf World has published the results of its latest preseason College Coaches’ Polls and its list of the Top 50 male and female “Players to Watch.” The content, which is part of Golf World’s annual College Preview issue, will be featured in the August 29 issue of the magazine and can be viewed online at www.golfworld.com.
On the men’s side, UCLA, the defending NCAA champion, is the top selection in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Bruins received 11 of 26 first-place votes and return All-American Erik Flores and the other four starters from last year’s team that won five tournaments.
Oklahoma State is ranked second in the poll, earning four first-place votes. The Cowboys lose no starters from last year’s squad, which finished fourth at the NCAA Championship. In addition, OSU brings in the best freshmen recruiting class in the country, with two-time AJGA player of the year Peter Uihlein and U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist Morgan Hoffmann coming to Stillwater, along with Germany’s Sean Einhaus.
Georgia (No. 3), Southern California (No. 4) and Stanford (No. 5) round out the top-five. The Bulldogs return all five starters from last year’s lineup, including Adam Mitchell, a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Amateur and winner at the Porter Cup, and senior Brian Harman, a former U.S. Walker Cup player. The Trojans, who finished in third place at last year’s NCAA Championship, return two-time All-American Jamie Lovemark and All-Americans Tim Sluiter and Tom Glissmeyer. They will be led by national coach of the year, Chris Zambri. The Cardinal, after last year’s runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship, loses senior Rob Grube to graduation, but returns first-team All-American Sihwan Kim, U.S. Open participant Jordan Cox and Joseph Bramlett, a second-team All-American returning from injury.
Rickie Fowler, a sophomore from Oklahoma State and first-team All-American, is number one on Golf World’s list of the “Top 50 Male Players to Watch.” The rest of the top ten includes: No 2. Jamie Lovemark (Southern California); No. 3 Billy Horschel (Florida St.); No. 4 Kyle Stanley (Clemson); No. 5 Jorge Campillo (Indiana); No. 6 Zach Sucher (UAB); No. 7 Sihwan Him (Stanford); No. 8 Chesson Hadley (Georgia Tech); No. 9 Adam Mitchell (Georgia); No. 10 Hudson Swafford (Georgia).
On the women’s side, defending champion Southern California is the number one team in the Golf World/NGCA Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Lady Trojans received 14 of 26 first-place votes and return first-team All-American Belen Mozo.
UCLA, which received eight first-place votes, is No. 2 in the poll. The Bruins return all five starters from last year’s squad, led by Tiffany Joh, the NCAA runner-up who won her second U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links title in three years this past summer.
Duke (No. 3), Arizona State (No. 4) and Oklahoma State (No. 5) round out the top-five. The Blue Devils notched five victories last year and have 76 tournament wins since 1999. The Sun Devils return defending NCAA champion, Azahara Munoz, and first-team All-American Anna Nordqvist. The Cowgirls will open the season with a deep lineup that includes two-time first-team All-American Pernilla Lindberg and Big 12 champion Jaclyn Sweeney.
For the third consecutive year, Duke senior and three-time national player of the year Amanda Blumenherst is number one on the list of the “Top 50 Female Players to Watch.” She is followed by: No. 2 Azahara Munoz (Arizona St.); No. 3 Belen Mozo (Southern California); No. 4 Tiffany Joh (UCLA); No. 5 Marie Jose Uribe (UCLA); No. 6 Anna Nordqvist (Arizona St.); No. 7 Maria Hernandez (Purdue); No. 8 Carlota Ciganda (Arizona St.); No. 9 Pernilla Lindberg (Oklahoma St.); No. 10 Taylore Karle (Pepperdine).
Visit Golf World Senior Writer Ryan Herrington’s “Campus Insider” blog to find out the latest on collegiate golf: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/blogs/campusinsider.
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GOLF WORLD/NIKE GOLF COACHES’ POLL
Men’s Division I – Preseason Edition
RANK TEAM POINTS ’08 NCAA
1. UCLA (11) 618 Won
2. Oklahoma St. (4) 592 4th
3. Georgia (6) 585 T-8
4. Southern Cal. (5) 564 3rd
5. Stanford 498 2nd
6. Clemson 481 5th
7. Florida 468 11th
8. Alabama 439 13th
9. Texas A&M 343 12th
10. Georgia Tech 340 DNP
11. Florida St. 335 DNP
12. Arizona St. 334 MC
13. Charlotte 258 T-8
14. Duke 231 DNP
15. Tennessee 217 DNP
16. Auburn 201 MC
17. Kent St. 173 6th
18. East Tennessee St. 168 MC
19. South Carolina 160 DNP
20. Wake Forest 121 MC
Indiana 121 MC
22. UNLV 117 DNP
23. San Diego St. 101 14th
24. Texas 95 MC
25. North Carolina 91 DNP
Others receiving votes: Chattanooga, 90; Louisville, 86; Illinois, 75; Washington, 74; Middle Tennessee St., 50; Texas Tech, 41; Michigan St., 39; UAB, 39; Arizona, 34; UCF, 32; LSU, 27; Arkansas, 22; N.C. St., 21; Pepperdine, 21; Mississippi, 20; Penn St., 15; UC Irvine, 15; TCU, 12; Augusta St., 11; California, 11; Purdue, 11; Oregon, 10; Northwestern, 8; Coastal Carolina, 6; Virginia Tech, 5; Colorado St., 3; Marquette, 3; SMU, 2; St. John’s, 2; Virginia, 2; Maryland, 1; Memphis, 1; Mississippi St., 1; New Mexico, 1; Notre Dame, 1; Wichita St., 1.
GOLF WORLD/NGCA COACHES’ POLL
Women’s Division I – Preseason Edition
RANK TEAM POINTS ’08 NCAA
1. Southern Cal. (14) 625 Won
2. UCLA (8) 615 2nd
3. Duke (3) 609 3rd
4. Arizona St. (1) 586 5th
5. Oklahoma St. 453 T-19
6. Georgia 449 T-10
7. Purdue 423 4th
8. Florida 417 9th
9. Auburn 407 T-12
10. Alabama 400 T-12
11. Denver 388 T-6
12. Wade Forest 372 T-10
13. Arizona 283 23rd
14. Virginia 278 T-12
15. Arkansas 270 8th
16. LSU 264 15th
17. Pepperdine 253 DNP
18. Texas A&M 231 T-6
19. Kent St. 169 DNP
20. California 132 DNP
Stanford 132 DNP
22. Texas 106 T-17
23. New Mexico 102 DNP
24. Michigan St. 81 DNP
25. Tennessee 71 DNP
Others receiving votes: Notre Dame, 49; TCU, 44; Vanderbilt, 43; North Carolina, 31; Tulsa, 26; South Carolina, 22; Furman, 19; New Mexico St., 17; Louisville, 13; UNLV, 11; Florida St., 10; UC Irvine, 9; BYU, 8; Nebraska, 8; UC Davis, 8; UCF, 7; Kentucky, 3; Ohio St., 3; Oregon, 3.
Contact:
Bret Hopman, 212-630-2490
bret.hopman@golfworld.com
