Kansas State University Athletics
Schultz, Wildcats Looking to Keep Hot Streak Going
Oct 10, 2022 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
There he stood, Cooper Schultz, hunched over on the putting green at Colbert Hills Golf Club like so many times before. He knew the Colbert greens like the path to the bedroom in pitch dark. But putting, like everything else in golf, required practice, concentration, focus, and ding! — the cellphone ding! interrupted his moment on the course, carrying with a message, a tweet, a notification of a grand announcement shortly after lunch last Wednesday afternoon.
He pulled the cellphone from his pocket.
"Big 12 Men's Golfer of the Month — Cooper Schultz," it read.
"I was more surprised than anything," he says. "There are some really good golfers in the Big 12. I was like, 'Wow, this is going to me?' Obviously, it was nice, but there's still a long way to go.
"I'd love to win Big 12 Golfer of the Year."
Schultz, a redshirt sophomore from Andover, Kansas, had tasted success before. He won the 2021 Kansas Amateur championship — the first current or former Wildcat to win the Kansas Amateur since 2012. He also earned his second straight US Amateur bid — the fourth Wildcat ever to compete at the event in consecutive years.
Yet he hadn't experienced the sweetness of a collegiate individual championship — until his 11-under par 205 on Colbert Hills sent him atop the leaderboard to lead Kansas State to the Wildcat Invitational title on September 13th. Two weeks later, he tied for 16th place at 1-under par 209 — all of his teammates finished at 1-under, the first time in school history every player had the same score — in helping K-State win the Old Town Collegiate. Schultz's two-foot putt on the 18th hole gave the Wildcats their first back-to-back team titles to start a season since 1983.
"This is just the beginning," Schultz says. "This team has a long way to go and we still have so much to prove not only to ourselves but to the rest of the nation. We're a top team and we truly believe that. Anything is possible with this team."
Shortly after the Old Town Collegiate, K-State earned its first-ever ranking in nine years under head coach Grant Robbins, whose resume includes three coach-of-the-year honors in two different conferences. K-State found itself ranked No. 21 in the Bushnell/Golfweek D1 coaches poll.
"Obviously, it's really exciting to be recognized and to be ranked," Robbins says. "Our goal is just to keep improving each day and with each tournament and hopefully we'll be in a good spot at the end of the year. There's still a lot of season left and a lot of things we want to accomplish and just have to keep working hard and keep trying to get better every day."
It's been a steady progression for Schultz at K-State. He accumulated a 73.78 stroke average while competing in eight events with one top-10 finish as a freshman. Currently, he has a team-best 69.00 stroke average after six rounds. Although Schultz has always been a phenomenal driver and ball striker, he's improved his overall course management, his patience, and his short game.
"Coach has really helped me with my game the past couple months," Schultz says. "I literally changed my entire game. I'm not putting the way I used to. I've changed a lot of things. It's helped with my consistency. I used to be a really streaky golfer. Now I've leveled out.
"My bad rounds aren't so bad and my good rounds are really good."
What has Schultz most learned about himself?
"That I can compete with anyone," he says.
Schultz is the seventh golfer in K-State history to be named Big 12 Golfer of the Month and the first since Jeremey Gandon in 2018. Robbins says one of Schultz's keys to success has been his improved maturity on the course.
"I'm really excited for (his Big 12 honor)," Robbins says. "He's worked really hard and has really matured as a player. He's obviously had a really good start for us this fall and it's neat to see him rewarded for it."
K-State competes on Monday and Tuesday in the Oregon State Invitational, held at the par-71, 7,384-yard Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Wildcats have never won three consecutive events in their history.
"Obviously, it's going to be a test, but we're definitely excited," Schultz says. "We're trying to keep the momentum up. We're here to win and not playing for second place."
K-State comes off its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2009 and aspires to advance to the National Championship this year.
It concludes its fall season with the Big 12 Match Play Championship on October 17-19 at Houston Oaks Golf Clube in Hockley, Texas.
"I'd just say don't sleep on us," Schultz says. "We're going to make a run."
Schultz and the Wildcats are off to a roaring start.
There he stood, Cooper Schultz, hunched over on the putting green at Colbert Hills Golf Club like so many times before. He knew the Colbert greens like the path to the bedroom in pitch dark. But putting, like everything else in golf, required practice, concentration, focus, and ding! — the cellphone ding! interrupted his moment on the course, carrying with a message, a tweet, a notification of a grand announcement shortly after lunch last Wednesday afternoon.
He pulled the cellphone from his pocket.
"Big 12 Men's Golfer of the Month — Cooper Schultz," it read.
Schultz had no clue.𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝟏𝟐 𝐌𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡@CooperSchultz23
— K-State Men's Golf (@KStateMGolf) October 5, 2022
📄 https://t.co/AYdCaWet2E#KStateMGOLF x @Big12Conference pic.twitter.com/ci631qe2yC
"I was more surprised than anything," he says. "There are some really good golfers in the Big 12. I was like, 'Wow, this is going to me?' Obviously, it was nice, but there's still a long way to go.
"I'd love to win Big 12 Golfer of the Year."
Schultz, a redshirt sophomore from Andover, Kansas, had tasted success before. He won the 2021 Kansas Amateur championship — the first current or former Wildcat to win the Kansas Amateur since 2012. He also earned his second straight US Amateur bid — the fourth Wildcat ever to compete at the event in consecutive years.
Yet he hadn't experienced the sweetness of a collegiate individual championship — until his 11-under par 205 on Colbert Hills sent him atop the leaderboard to lead Kansas State to the Wildcat Invitational title on September 13th. Two weeks later, he tied for 16th place at 1-under par 209 — all of his teammates finished at 1-under, the first time in school history every player had the same score — in helping K-State win the Old Town Collegiate. Schultz's two-foot putt on the 18th hole gave the Wildcats their first back-to-back team titles to start a season since 1983.
"This is just the beginning," Schultz says. "This team has a long way to go and we still have so much to prove not only to ourselves but to the rest of the nation. We're a top team and we truly believe that. Anything is possible with this team."
Shortly after the Old Town Collegiate, K-State earned its first-ever ranking in nine years under head coach Grant Robbins, whose resume includes three coach-of-the-year honors in two different conferences. K-State found itself ranked No. 21 in the Bushnell/Golfweek D1 coaches poll.
"Obviously, it's really exciting to be recognized and to be ranked," Robbins says. "Our goal is just to keep improving each day and with each tournament and hopefully we'll be in a good spot at the end of the year. There's still a lot of season left and a lot of things we want to accomplish and just have to keep working hard and keep trying to get better every day."
It's been a steady progression for Schultz at K-State. He accumulated a 73.78 stroke average while competing in eight events with one top-10 finish as a freshman. Currently, he has a team-best 69.00 stroke average after six rounds. Although Schultz has always been a phenomenal driver and ball striker, he's improved his overall course management, his patience, and his short game.
"Coach has really helped me with my game the past couple months," Schultz says. "I literally changed my entire game. I'm not putting the way I used to. I've changed a lot of things. It's helped with my consistency. I used to be a really streaky golfer. Now I've leveled out.
"My bad rounds aren't so bad and my good rounds are really good."
What has Schultz most learned about himself?
"That I can compete with anyone," he says.
Schultz is the seventh golfer in K-State history to be named Big 12 Golfer of the Month and the first since Jeremey Gandon in 2018. Robbins says one of Schultz's keys to success has been his improved maturity on the course.
"I'm really excited for (his Big 12 honor)," Robbins says. "He's worked really hard and has really matured as a player. He's obviously had a really good start for us this fall and it's neat to see him rewarded for it."
K-State competes on Monday and Tuesday in the Oregon State Invitational, held at the par-71, 7,384-yard Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Wildcats have never won three consecutive events in their history.
"Obviously, it's going to be a test, but we're definitely excited," Schultz says. "We're trying to keep the momentum up. We're here to win and not playing for second place."
K-State comes off its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2009 and aspires to advance to the National Championship this year.
It concludes its fall season with the Big 12 Match Play Championship on October 17-19 at Houston Oaks Golf Clube in Hockley, Texas.
"I'd just say don't sleep on us," Schultz says. "We're going to make a run."
Schultz and the Wildcats are off to a roaring start.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
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