# Oklahoma State Cowboys golf

The Oklahoma State Cowboys golf team represents Oklahoma State University in the sport of men's golf. The Cowboys compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big 12. They play their home matches on the Karsten Creek golf course, just outside the university's Stillwater, Oklahoma campus, and are currently led by 12th year head coach Alan Bratton.
The Oklahoma State men's golf team is one of the most illustrious in the country, winning 11 NCAA national championships, finishing runner–up an additional 17 times, and winning 56 total conference titles. Nine Cowboy golfers have also won individual national championships.

## History
### Labron Harris era (1947–1973)

Labron Harris, a professional golfer and architect of the Lakeside Memorial Golf Course, took over as head coach for the inaugural years of Oklahoma State golf. He quickly cemented OSU as being one of the strongest programs in the country, and under his leadership Oklahoma State claimed 24 Missouri Valley and Big 8 Conference championships. The Cowboys finished runner-up three times in 1958, 1960 and 1962, but were unable to break through until 1963, when Harris finally delivered Oklahoma State the school's first NCAA national championship. Additionally, he coached two Oklahoma State players to individual national titles, with Earl Moeller in 1953 and Grier Jones in 1968 claiming championships.

### Mike Holder era (1973–2005)

Mike Holder is widely regarded as the most successful head coach in Oklahoma State golf history. As a player previously under Harris, he won the individual Big 8 conference title while leading OSU to the team conference title in 1970. Under his coaching, Oklahoma State dominated the 1970's and 1980's, winning eight national titles and going on a commanding stretch from 1975–1988 that saw OSU finishing 1st or 2nd in 13 of the 14 years. Cowboy golfers claimed individual national titles three years in a row, with Scott Verplank in 1986, Brian Watts in 1987, and E. J. Pfister in 1988 all winning championships. The high levels of success carried on into the 1990's, with Oklahoma State winning two more national championships in 1991 and 1995, amid the opening of the Karsten Creek golf course, where the team continues to play their home matches today. The Cowboys won their 9th national title in 2000 in a playoff over Georgia Tech, with Charles Howell III simultaneously winning the school's 7th individual title. In 2003, Oklahoma State became the first school to capture four Big 12 conference titles.

### Mike McGraw era (2005–2013)

Mike McGraw served as the assistant head coach from 1998–2005 before taking over the head coaching duties following the retirement of Holder. The new era was again filled with success, as Oklahoma State quickly picked up the school's 10th team national championship and 8th individual national title with Jonathan Moore in 2006. The Cowboys won a national–record 50th conference title in 2007, but were unable to win any more national titles, only coming as close as 2nd in 2010. McGraw was fired by Holder eight years after being given the job by him, in 2013.

### Alan Bratton era (2013-present)

Alan Bratton took over as head coach in 2013, previously serving as assistant coaches for both the men and women's OSU golf teams, before being selected to lead the women's team in 2011 and 2012. Under Bratton, Oklahoma State won their 11th national title in 2018, shutting out Alabama 5–0 at Karsten Creek to win the title on their home course. They followed the national championship season with a semifinals appearance in 2019, while Matthew Wolff won the school's 9th individual national championship by five strokes.

## PGA Tour professionals

Numerous Cowboys from the men's team have gone on to success in professional golf on both the PGA and European Tours, including Bob Tway (8 PGA Tour wins, including 1986 PGA Championship), Hunter Mahan (6 PGA Tour wins, including 3 WGC events), Rickie Fowler (5 PGA Tour wins, including 2015 Players Championship, and 2 European Tour wins), Scott Verplank (5 PGA Tour wins), Danny Edwards (5 PGA Tour wins), Viktor Hovland (6 PGA Tour wins), David Edwards (4 PGA Tour wins), Michael Bradley (4 PGA Tour wins), Mark Hayes (3 PGA Tour wins, including 1977 Players Championship), Charles Howell III (3 PGA Tour wins), Bob Dickson (2 PGA Tour wins), Bo Van Pelt (one win each on PGA Tour and European Tour), Willie Wood (one PGA Tour win), Kevin Tway (one PGA Tour win), Pablo Martín (3 European Tour wins), Matthew Wolff (1 PGA Tour win), and Peter Uihlein (1 European Tour win). Additionally, Brian Watts went on to great success on the Japan Golf Tour, earning 12 wins.

## Karsten Creek Golf Course

Karsten Creek serves as the home course of the Oklahoma State University men's and women's golf teams. The Tom Fazio layout was named Golf Digest's "Best New Public Course" and served as the host site for the NCAA Men's Championship in 2003, 2011, and 2018. Travel & Leisure Golf magazine ranked Karsten Creek as the best college course in the country.