Cats Off to Quick Start, Eye Potential Big Season
Sep 29, 2022 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Cooper Schultz is an assassin. There he was, standing over a two-foot putt on the 18th hole at the Old Town Collegiate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He had hit a 145-yard tee shot on the par-4. There had been a little wind to the right. He had hit a pitching wedge from 35 yards out. He had really whacked the ball. The ball easily could've landed eight feet beyond the hole. Instead, the ball caught the side of the hole, and landed two feet away.
Kansas State was two feet away from its second-straight victory of this early men's golf season. And there was one thought in Schultz's mind at that point: "We did it."
"There was a 100% chance that we were going to win," he says.
Schultz, a sophomore from Andover, had been in high-pressure situations before. Once, during a qualifier, he had to record an eagle on the last hole and sank a 50-foot putt to force a playoff. Another time, in the 2021 U.S. Amateur qualifier, he was 2-under par on the first nine and knew he had to shoot 3- or 4-under to reach a playoff. He went 4-under on the final nine and birdied 17th and 18th. Over and over, he had come so close. Once, he forced an eight-hole playoff. He would force a playoff, but falter down the stretch.
Interestingly, Schultz says that he had a similar putt at the Old Town Collegiate last year. He left the putt way short and three-putted. K-State fell short to SMU by one stroke for a tie for fifth.
"This year, I said, 'I'm not leaving it short again,'" Schultz says.
"I'd gone through so many tournaments where I'd miss by one stroke," he continues. "I had felt pressure before and had collapsed. To win, you have to go through pressure situations before. You don't just rise to the occasion the first time you do it.
"It's repeated failures that push you to get better. Past failures will get you better in the long run."
He coolly sank the two-foot putt. There was no doubt. K-State finished at 12-under par 828. Schultz admits that the team "crumbled" down the stretch, shooting a 4-over par 284 in the final round at Old Town Collegiate. But K-State did what good teams do.
The Wildcats persevered. They hung on despite not playing their best round.
After winning the Wildcat Invitational two weeks ago, K-State has now won back-to-back tournaments for the first time since 2009. It's also the first time they've opened a season with consecutive victories since 1983, while it was the first time in school history K-State had consecutive events in which all five players in the scoring lineup finished in the top 20.
Here's what's crazy about the Old Town Collegiate: All five K-State players in the lineup — Will Hopkins, Nicklaus Mason, Tim Tillmans, Laurenz Schiergen and Schultz — finished with the exact same score, a 1-under par 209. Each of them tied for 16th place.
It's the first time that feat has happened in school history.
"I don't know if it's ever happened in Division I golf," Schultz says. "That's probably one of the crazier finishes you'll ever see. Heading into the final nine holes, none of us were remotely close to each other. I mean, it's just insane. It's nuts."
K-State held off Furman and Wake Forest, who made their respective runs down the stretch, but neither ever overtook the Wildcats.
And Schultz, who was coming off an individual title at the Wildcat Invitational, tapped in the final putt.
"All of us are confident in our abilities," Schultz says. "Coming off two wins — it's hard to win in college golf — we expect to win in every tournament. We have this kind of swagger we walk with — 'We're better than these guys.' We've all played very high-level golf. We're trying to win very convincingly and leave no doubt."
K-State next heads to the Oregon State Invitational on October 10-11 before the Big 12 Conference Match Play Championship on October 17-19.
The Wildcats maintain the highest of goals.
"All of us have the potential to go low in tournaments," Schultz says. "We have eight or nine guys who can shoot these scores. We're all there. We're all really good. This team has probably the most potential we've ever had. I think this is the best team we've ever had. I think the sky's the limit. I think we can easily end up going to the national championship and end up in the final eight. That's our goal. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to make the national championship.
"In past years, the goal might've been to just make regionals. Not this year. We want to win the national championship."
In the end, K-State won the Old Town Collegiate by one stroke to capture its second straight tournament victory. Schultz tapped in the two-foot putt to win it.
"I'm just happy," he says, "that we pulled through. A win is a win. The putt was more of a relief than a good putt."
But the Wildcats hoisted the trophy.
And they continue their roll.
Cooper Schultz is an assassin. There he was, standing over a two-foot putt on the 18th hole at the Old Town Collegiate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He had hit a 145-yard tee shot on the par-4. There had been a little wind to the right. He had hit a pitching wedge from 35 yards out. He had really whacked the ball. The ball easily could've landed eight feet beyond the hole. Instead, the ball caught the side of the hole, and landed two feet away.
Kansas State was two feet away from its second-straight victory of this early men's golf season. And there was one thought in Schultz's mind at that point: "We did it."
"There was a 100% chance that we were going to win," he says.
Schultz, a sophomore from Andover, had been in high-pressure situations before. Once, during a qualifier, he had to record an eagle on the last hole and sank a 50-foot putt to force a playoff. Another time, in the 2021 U.S. Amateur qualifier, he was 2-under par on the first nine and knew he had to shoot 3- or 4-under to reach a playoff. He went 4-under on the final nine and birdied 17th and 18th. Over and over, he had come so close. Once, he forced an eight-hole playoff. He would force a playoff, but falter down the stretch.
Interestingly, Schultz says that he had a similar putt at the Old Town Collegiate last year. He left the putt way short and three-putted. K-State fell short to SMU by one stroke for a tie for fifth.
"This year, I said, 'I'm not leaving it short again,'" Schultz says.
"I'd gone through so many tournaments where I'd miss by one stroke," he continues. "I had felt pressure before and had collapsed. To win, you have to go through pressure situations before. You don't just rise to the occasion the first time you do it.
"It's repeated failures that push you to get better. Past failures will get you better in the long run."
He coolly sank the two-foot putt. There was no doubt. K-State finished at 12-under par 828. Schultz admits that the team "crumbled" down the stretch, shooting a 4-over par 284 in the final round at Old Town Collegiate. But K-State did what good teams do.
The Wildcats persevered. They hung on despite not playing their best round.
After winning the Wildcat Invitational two weeks ago, K-State has now won back-to-back tournaments for the first time since 2009. It's also the first time they've opened a season with consecutive victories since 1983, while it was the first time in school history K-State had consecutive events in which all five players in the scoring lineup finished in the top 20.
Here's what's crazy about the Old Town Collegiate: All five K-State players in the lineup — Will Hopkins, Nicklaus Mason, Tim Tillmans, Laurenz Schiergen and Schultz — finished with the exact same score, a 1-under par 209. Each of them tied for 16th place.
It's the first time that feat has happened in school history.
"I don't know if it's ever happened in Division I golf," Schultz says. "That's probably one of the crazier finishes you'll ever see. Heading into the final nine holes, none of us were remotely close to each other. I mean, it's just insane. It's nuts."
K-State held off Furman and Wake Forest, who made their respective runs down the stretch, but neither ever overtook the Wildcats.
And Schultz, who was coming off an individual title at the Wildcat Invitational, tapped in the final putt.
"All of us are confident in our abilities," Schultz says. "Coming off two wins — it's hard to win in college golf — we expect to win in every tournament. We have this kind of swagger we walk with — 'We're better than these guys.' We've all played very high-level golf. We're trying to win very convincingly and leave no doubt."
K-State next heads to the Oregon State Invitational on October 10-11 before the Big 12 Conference Match Play Championship on October 17-19.
The Wildcats maintain the highest of goals.
"All of us have the potential to go low in tournaments," Schultz says. "We have eight or nine guys who can shoot these scores. We're all there. We're all really good. This team has probably the most potential we've ever had. I think this is the best team we've ever had. I think the sky's the limit. I think we can easily end up going to the national championship and end up in the final eight. That's our goal. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to make the national championship.
"In past years, the goal might've been to just make regionals. Not this year. We want to win the national championship."
In the end, K-State won the Old Town Collegiate by one stroke to capture its second straight tournament victory. Schultz tapped in the two-foot putt to win it.
"I'm just happy," he says, "that we pulled through. A win is a win. The putt was more of a relief than a good putt."
But the Wildcats hoisted the trophy.
And they continue their roll.
Players Mentioned
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