Hopkins Impressing to Start Final Collegiate Season
Sep 13, 2022 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The Kansas State men's golf team sat around a large mahogany table in the Founders Room in the Colbert Hills clubhouse and ate chicken soft tacos and swigged water. That's how they celebrated Monday evening after shooting one of the greatest rounds in school history at the 2022 Wildcat Invitational. One golfer stood at the top: Will Hopkins.
Hopkins, a fifth-year senior from Lincolnshire, England, finished 8-under par 136 heading into Tuesday's final round at the prestigious par-72, 7,525-yard Colbert Hills Golf Club in Manhattan. The team captain wore a white K-State polo and short dark hair stuck out from underneath his white ballcap. He smiled as he spoke. And why not? He's the most veteran of vets on a squad that returns every major contributor from last season's NCAA Regional appearance — and he holds a 1-stroke lead over the pack. He could potentially capture the first individual title of his career on Tuesday.
K-State sophomore Cooper Schultz is one stroke from Hopkins at 7-under par 136.
"Fortunately, I've played quite a few good rounds here," Hopkins said. "Under that pressure in a tournament, yeah, they are two of my better rounds. We play against each other a lot collectively, so we're used to low rounds around this place."
As for pressure?
"There's going to be pressure, regardless, but you have to harness it and use it for good," he said. "I just have to go through your routine and breathing and execute how I know I can. It's good to feel pressure."
Hopkins led the team with a 72.57 stroke average while competing in nine events in 2020-21. He also had a team high-tying two top-five finishes. He tied for third at the Missouri Tiger Invitational as he shot a season-low 64 in the first round and finished with a 9-under par 207 to lead the Wildcats to a second-place finish. He also led the team as 89.32% of his rounds counted toward the team score.
Hopkins saw action in 11 events last season while averaging 72.55 strokes per round and captured five top-20 finishes. That included two finishes in the top-10 and a fifth-place finish at the Steelwood Collegiate, where he shot a season best 5-under par 211. Impressively, 91.66% of his rounds contributed toward the team score. He led the team with 17 even/under par rounds.
"Will really turned the corner halfway through last year," K-State head coach Grant Robbins said. "We've had a lot of one-on-one talks, trying to really get him to know how good he is. As a player, sometimes they struggle with some self-doubt, and sometimes you just have to let them know what we see — and we see you can be an elite player and you need to believe it.
"That's kind of motivated him. He's really kind of changed how he approaches things and the way he prepares and the way he works. He's starting to see dividends from it."
Hopkins returned home over the summer. He competed in seven golf events. He won the prestigious 2022 Tillman Trophy on July 14 at Castle Royle Golf & Country Club with a four-round 277, winning the event by one stroke, and he will receive an invitation to compete in the CLUTCH Pro Tour Championship.
"I tried to really work on my ball strike this offseason and that's something we noticed coming off the regionals," Hopkins said. "We visited last year, and I really wanted to get better on the greens with my putting game. That's really where it gets done. I've put a lot of time into that."
It certainly helped the Wildcats to achieve one of their best rounds in school history on Monday. K-State is well atop the team leaderboard after two rounds at 25-under par 551. That includes a 17-under par 271 second round, which is tied for the fourth-best round in school history.
"Will has the most experience and he's been around his program, and he's seen how the culture has evolved and he's played a big role with that," Robbins said. "Off the course, he's very likeable. Guys on this team gravitate toward him. He carries a big weight there.
"The guys follow him."
Literally.
One after another the rest of the Wildcats fall in line heading into Tuesday's final round. Every member of the scoring lineup is in the top-15 and all eight competing Wildcats are in the top-20. Competing as an individual, Nicklaus Mason is in third place, senior transfer Grayson Blunt is in fourth place, and Luke O'Neill and Laurenz Schiergen are tied for 12th place.
"I knew we were capable of this because we were so competitive within the team in qualifying for this tournament," Robbins said. "You can see the competition between the guys, and they push each other. When you have that competition within the group, they all want to be in the starting five. You put that pressure on them in practice and it gives them a little more confidence.
"I told them, 'The guys who made the top five, you had to earn it to get here.'"
Expect Hopkins to help lead the way.
"Time is ticking on," Hopkins said. "I have a lot of people asking me what's next, but I'm just trying to enjoy every day as it comes. Time is going by fast.
"The goal for this year is to just go one further (for the NCAA Championship round). We'll take it one tournament at a time, but we'll have that overarching goal in mind and just keep playing for a bigger purpose."
The Kansas State men's golf team sat around a large mahogany table in the Founders Room in the Colbert Hills clubhouse and ate chicken soft tacos and swigged water. That's how they celebrated Monday evening after shooting one of the greatest rounds in school history at the 2022 Wildcat Invitational. One golfer stood at the top: Will Hopkins.
Hopkins, a fifth-year senior from Lincolnshire, England, finished 8-under par 136 heading into Tuesday's final round at the prestigious par-72, 7,525-yard Colbert Hills Golf Club in Manhattan. The team captain wore a white K-State polo and short dark hair stuck out from underneath his white ballcap. He smiled as he spoke. And why not? He's the most veteran of vets on a squad that returns every major contributor from last season's NCAA Regional appearance — and he holds a 1-stroke lead over the pack. He could potentially capture the first individual title of his career on Tuesday.
K-State sophomore Cooper Schultz is one stroke from Hopkins at 7-under par 136.
"Fortunately, I've played quite a few good rounds here," Hopkins said. "Under that pressure in a tournament, yeah, they are two of my better rounds. We play against each other a lot collectively, so we're used to low rounds around this place."
As for pressure?
"There's going to be pressure, regardless, but you have to harness it and use it for good," he said. "I just have to go through your routine and breathing and execute how I know I can. It's good to feel pressure."
Hopkins led the team with a 72.57 stroke average while competing in nine events in 2020-21. He also had a team high-tying two top-five finishes. He tied for third at the Missouri Tiger Invitational as he shot a season-low 64 in the first round and finished with a 9-under par 207 to lead the Wildcats to a second-place finish. He also led the team as 89.32% of his rounds counted toward the team score.
Hopkins saw action in 11 events last season while averaging 72.55 strokes per round and captured five top-20 finishes. That included two finishes in the top-10 and a fifth-place finish at the Steelwood Collegiate, where he shot a season best 5-under par 211. Impressively, 91.66% of his rounds contributed toward the team score. He led the team with 17 even/under par rounds.
"Will really turned the corner halfway through last year," K-State head coach Grant Robbins said. "We've had a lot of one-on-one talks, trying to really get him to know how good he is. As a player, sometimes they struggle with some self-doubt, and sometimes you just have to let them know what we see — and we see you can be an elite player and you need to believe it.
"That's kind of motivated him. He's really kind of changed how he approaches things and the way he prepares and the way he works. He's starting to see dividends from it."
Hopkins returned home over the summer. He competed in seven golf events. He won the prestigious 2022 Tillman Trophy on July 14 at Castle Royle Golf & Country Club with a four-round 277, winning the event by one stroke, and he will receive an invitation to compete in the CLUTCH Pro Tour Championship.
"I tried to really work on my ball strike this offseason and that's something we noticed coming off the regionals," Hopkins said. "We visited last year, and I really wanted to get better on the greens with my putting game. That's really where it gets done. I've put a lot of time into that."
It certainly helped the Wildcats to achieve one of their best rounds in school history on Monday. K-State is well atop the team leaderboard after two rounds at 25-under par 551. That includes a 17-under par 271 second round, which is tied for the fourth-best round in school history.
"Will has the most experience and he's been around his program, and he's seen how the culture has evolved and he's played a big role with that," Robbins said. "Off the course, he's very likeable. Guys on this team gravitate toward him. He carries a big weight there.
"The guys follow him."
Literally.
One after another the rest of the Wildcats fall in line heading into Tuesday's final round. Every member of the scoring lineup is in the top-15 and all eight competing Wildcats are in the top-20. Competing as an individual, Nicklaus Mason is in third place, senior transfer Grayson Blunt is in fourth place, and Luke O'Neill and Laurenz Schiergen are tied for 12th place.
"I knew we were capable of this because we were so competitive within the team in qualifying for this tournament," Robbins said. "You can see the competition between the guys, and they push each other. When you have that competition within the group, they all want to be in the starting five. You put that pressure on them in practice and it gives them a little more confidence.
"I told them, 'The guys who made the top five, you had to earn it to get here.'"
Expect Hopkins to help lead the way.
"Time is ticking on," Hopkins said. "I have a lot of people asking me what's next, but I'm just trying to enjoy every day as it comes. Time is going by fast.
"The goal for this year is to just go one further (for the NCAA Championship round). We'll take it one tournament at a time, but we'll have that overarching goal in mind and just keep playing for a bigger purpose."
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