Kansas State University Athletics
Success for the Cats and on the Amateur Circuit
Nov 17, 2022 | Men's Cross Country, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
As a smattering of snow-covered Manhattan earlier this week, Kansas State men's golfer Cooper Schultz thought about the sunshine at Miami Beach Golf Club and the South Beach International Amateur in Miami, Florida — the world's fifth-ranked amateur event, which Cooper plans to attack in December.
There's seemingly always the "next" tournament, the next opportunity to improve and succeed, and there's little down time. Prior to the snow, Schultz and his K-State teammates tackled the par-3 golf course at Colbert Hills — and when they're not practicing outside, they are sweating over the golf simulator inside their climate-controlled indoor practice facility.
"I'm excited to go to Florida to play in the amateur," Schultz says. "I was there last year and didn't play well, so I need some redemption."
In the state of Kansas, no amateur has been better: Schultz has been recognized as the Kansas Amateur Player of the Year by Central Links Golf for a second straight year, thus joining the ranks of previous winners and current PGA Tour golfers Gary Woodland and Sam Stevens, who were repeat honorees as well.
Schultz, a redshirt sophomore from Andover, Kansas, advanced to the semifinals in the 2022 Kansas Amateur Match Play Championship and earned a bid to the 122nd US Amateur after shooting an 8-under par 136 in the qualifying event, becoming just the third Wildcat to qualify for the US Amateur in consecutive years.
"Player of the year is a great honor for him, and he's won it for a second year in a row," K-State men's golf coach Grant Robbins says. "It just shows how good of a player he's been within the state, and it's nice to see him recognized for it."
Schultz earned further recognition from the start of the K-State fall season when he captured the individual championship at the Wildcat Invitational — his first individual win — and helped the Wildcats to three straight team titles to open the season. K-State ascended to a No. 18 ranking nationally by Golfstat.
Schultz credits his success to his tutelage under Robbins, who helped transform his game to reach new heights.
"My strategy is different, my swing is just a little bit different, my putting and chipping is different," Schultz says. "Almost everything in my game is different than when I first came to college. My success came because I listened.
"I'm a pretty aggressive player. I'm just really confident in myself, so I go at everything. When you're playing bad, that's not always the best thing to do. Before, I'd force things, and I could shoot a 65 but I could also shoot a 75."
Schultz averaged 70.11 strokes per round and had a team high-tying three top-20 finishes, helping lead the charge for the Wildcats, who enjoyed their best fall season in history with team titles at the Wildcat Invitational, the Old Town Collegiate and the Oregon State Invitational.
"He's a great player and he's just really maturing and getting better with every tournament," Robbins says. "Just seeing him take off, he's always been extremely talented, and he's just getting more experience, and along with his experience comes maturity, and with more maturity he's more consistent with his scoring.
"He's becoming a leader for us."
The Big 12 Conference honored Schultz as the Big 12 Golfer of the Month in September, marking the first time a Wildcat received the honor since 2018.
Schultz and the Wildcats will be back in action when their spring season tees off on February 13-14 at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate. The spring schedule includes six regular season events before the Big 12 Championship on April 24-26.
"I think this is the best team we've ever had," Schultz says. "Good teams pull through and what's what we've been able to do. We've gotten so much better at the little things. We have big goals for this team. We want to be the best. I think we're ranked 19th right now, so we still have 18 more spots to go. It's definitely doable. If we just continue to work hard, we're going to get there."
For now, Schultz looks forward to competing in the South Beach International Amateur, but he is eager to get things started again with the Wildcats in official action.
"I'm so excited," Schultz says. "I miss playing with my boys. I love to play golf. I love competing and I just want to have fun. As long as I'm with the boys, I'm having fun."
This past year, he's stood alone as Kansas Amateur Player of the Year.
As a smattering of snow-covered Manhattan earlier this week, Kansas State men's golfer Cooper Schultz thought about the sunshine at Miami Beach Golf Club and the South Beach International Amateur in Miami, Florida — the world's fifth-ranked amateur event, which Cooper plans to attack in December.
There's seemingly always the "next" tournament, the next opportunity to improve and succeed, and there's little down time. Prior to the snow, Schultz and his K-State teammates tackled the par-3 golf course at Colbert Hills — and when they're not practicing outside, they are sweating over the golf simulator inside their climate-controlled indoor practice facility.
"I'm excited to go to Florida to play in the amateur," Schultz says. "I was there last year and didn't play well, so I need some redemption."
In the state of Kansas, no amateur has been better: Schultz has been recognized as the Kansas Amateur Player of the Year by Central Links Golf for a second straight year, thus joining the ranks of previous winners and current PGA Tour golfers Gary Woodland and Sam Stevens, who were repeat honorees as well.
"There's been a lot of good golfers to come through Kansas, so just having my name next to them, it's special to have my name there," Schultz said. "There are a lot of elite golfers to win the award. I was really happy to win because I worked really hard for this. It's not easy to win player of the year because you have to play really good golf and there are a lot of good players around. It's really good to know the hard work is paying off."𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐬 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫
— K-State Men's Golf (@KStateMGolf) November 11, 2022
Congrats, @CooperSchultz23 #KStateMGOLF x @centlinksgolf
📄 https://t.co/o8AjcNFjQk pic.twitter.com/iW05CNl27w
Schultz, a redshirt sophomore from Andover, Kansas, advanced to the semifinals in the 2022 Kansas Amateur Match Play Championship and earned a bid to the 122nd US Amateur after shooting an 8-under par 136 in the qualifying event, becoming just the third Wildcat to qualify for the US Amateur in consecutive years.
"Player of the year is a great honor for him, and he's won it for a second year in a row," K-State men's golf coach Grant Robbins says. "It just shows how good of a player he's been within the state, and it's nice to see him recognized for it."
Schultz earned further recognition from the start of the K-State fall season when he captured the individual championship at the Wildcat Invitational — his first individual win — and helped the Wildcats to three straight team titles to open the season. K-State ascended to a No. 18 ranking nationally by Golfstat.
Schultz credits his success to his tutelage under Robbins, who helped transform his game to reach new heights.
"My strategy is different, my swing is just a little bit different, my putting and chipping is different," Schultz says. "Almost everything in my game is different than when I first came to college. My success came because I listened.
"I'm a pretty aggressive player. I'm just really confident in myself, so I go at everything. When you're playing bad, that's not always the best thing to do. Before, I'd force things, and I could shoot a 65 but I could also shoot a 75."
Schultz averaged 70.11 strokes per round and had a team high-tying three top-20 finishes, helping lead the charge for the Wildcats, who enjoyed their best fall season in history with team titles at the Wildcat Invitational, the Old Town Collegiate and the Oregon State Invitational.
"He's a great player and he's just really maturing and getting better with every tournament," Robbins says. "Just seeing him take off, he's always been extremely talented, and he's just getting more experience, and along with his experience comes maturity, and with more maturity he's more consistent with his scoring.
"He's becoming a leader for us."
The Big 12 Conference honored Schultz as the Big 12 Golfer of the Month in September, marking the first time a Wildcat received the honor since 2018.
Schultz and the Wildcats will be back in action when their spring season tees off on February 13-14 at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate. The spring schedule includes six regular season events before the Big 12 Championship on April 24-26.
"I think this is the best team we've ever had," Schultz says. "Good teams pull through and what's what we've been able to do. We've gotten so much better at the little things. We have big goals for this team. We want to be the best. I think we're ranked 19th right now, so we still have 18 more spots to go. It's definitely doable. If we just continue to work hard, we're going to get there."
For now, Schultz looks forward to competing in the South Beach International Amateur, but he is eager to get things started again with the Wildcats in official action.
"I'm so excited," Schultz says. "I miss playing with my boys. I love to play golf. I love competing and I just want to have fun. As long as I'm with the boys, I'm having fun."
This past year, he's stood alone as Kansas Amateur Player of the Year.
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