MEN’S GOLF COULD BE TEAM TO BEAT

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Typically, Mike McGraw lands his top recruits in November.

Baylor's sixth-year coach did bring in two of the best junior golfers in the country when he signed Trey Bosco from Lake Travis and Luke Morgan from Guthrie, Okla., back in the fall.

But this year, with the NCAA's decision to give spring sports athletes another year of eligibility after the remainder of the season was canceled, McGraw got an unexpected boost last month when senior team captains Cooper Dossey and Colin Kober announced their plans to come back.

"I told the guys last week that Colin and Cooper would be team captains again this year because they didn't get to finish the year they were team captains," McGraw said. "They're basically fifth-year seniors who have both played a lot of really good golf in their careers. They have high expectations, and they felt like we were headed toward something really good this year, we just didn't get it to the clubhouse. Now, they're going to have that opportunity."

Ranked fourth nationally with a 69.72-stroke average that broke Kyle Jones' single-season program record (70.47, 2014-15), Dossey had to weigh his options of turning pro before deciding to return next year.

"What helped with my decision is there's nowhere to play pro golf," said Dossey, whose 71.58 career average ranks second all-time behind PGA Tour veteran Jimmy Walker (71.55). "If I were to turn pro, I wouldn't be able to play a golf tournament for who knows how long. There are just no opportunities for guys coming out of college to play pro tournaments."

Kober added, "You really don't know what it's going to look like six months from now."

The other deciding factor for both Dossey and Kober was a statement they made to McGraw nearly four years ago as first-semester freshmen. Before they had ever taken one shot for Baylor, they said their goal was to win a national championship.

"Me, Cooper and (redshirt junior) Travis McInroe had the same philosophy," said Kober, who posted two top-10 finishes in the fall before being slowed by a back injury in the spring, finishing with a 72.78 average. "It's not about individual wins or top 10s. We want to win a national championship as a team and win as many tournaments as we can."

With Dossey and Kober back, along with freshman Johnny Keefer and juniors Ryan Grider, Mark Reppe and McInroe, "we will, on paper, be the best team in the country next year," Dossey said.

"I really think we could have won it this year," he said, "because that golf course in Arizona (Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale) was going to fit us really well and all of us love desert golf."

Through the first seven tournaments, including the Big 12 Match Play Championship in the fall, the Bears were ninth in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and 10^th by Golfstat. They won the first two tournaments of the year, had runner-up finishes at the Royal Oaks and Arizona Intercollegiate and were coming off a fifth-place showing at the Cabo Collegiate where they beat nine top-50 teams.

"I think they felt like we were just scratching the surface," McGraw said. "As a team, we hung in that 10^th to 12 position in the country for quite a while. Ultimately, a ranking isn't what you're looking for, anyway. It's achieving whatever goals you have. Now, if being ranked No. 1 was a goal, that would be part of it. But, we figured rankings would take care of itself if you did all the other things."

Dossey was certainly having a year to remember, winning his third individual tournament title at the Fighting Illini Invitational and recording top-10 finishes in all but one of the six stroke-play tournaments.

Dossey

"This is the first year in college that I have played 100 percent healthy," he said. "Even my freshman year – I would say that's my second-best year – I was still hurt. I think just being healthy, and then I got pushed hard by Colin this year to be more disciplined. We made a promise to hold each other accountable this year. He's a lot more disciplined than I am.

"I just gave it all I had, because I knew it was my last year. That's why it hurt so bad, because all the hard work was starting to pay off. But, that's OK, it's not the end of the world, and I'm going to have more chances."

Two weeks ago, Dossey was named to Team USA for the 2020 Palmer Cup, a matchup against Europe that is scheduled for July 3-5 at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland. He becomes just the third Baylor golfer in program history to be selected to the Palmer Cup, joining Ryan Baca (2006) and Kyle Jones (2015).

"It means the world," said Dossey, who will also get to spend another year with his younger brother, freshman Luke Dossey. "That was one of my big goals before the year started. I've never been on a team to represent the U.S. yet. I played in a tournament in Scotland, but it was just me. I've never had that atmosphere of playing to represent your country. The cool part is if they do play it in July, it could very well be the first tournament back."

As good as Dossey's season was, Keefer wasn't far behind. The first-year freshman was second on the team with a 70.41-stroke average and had three top-five finishes.

"Johnny Keefer will be the best player in college golf in three years, and I strongly mean that," Dossey said. "This year would have been really special, and a lot of that was because of him. He definitely carried us in a couple tournaments."

One of the things McGraw did differently this year was loosening his grip on the steering wheel and letting the team be driven by Dossey and Kober. His three hard-and-fast rules are going to class, being on time and respecting "everybody we come in contact with." Other than that, the two senior captains were given the reins to "make (the team) look like you want it to look."

"That was hard for me, because normally as a coach you want to make sure you're driving the bus, if you will," McGraw said. "But, both Colin and Cooper proved to me that they have a driver's license"

After what he calls a "trial year on how to be a captain," Dossey said they have a better handle on how to lead the team and "what we need to do better." They also know what it takes to win a national championship, being on the team three years ago when the Bears lost to eventual national champion Oklahoma in the match-play quarterfinals.

"This year, with guys just progressing," Kober said, "I hope it's a national championship team. I really think there's a good possibility."

With 10 returning players and the two incoming freshmen, some of Baylor's stiffest competition could come at home. Each tournament, McGraw and assistant coach Ryan Blagg will have to make the difficult decisions to leave some talented golfers at home.

Throughout the recruiting process, or once they got on campus, every one of Baylor's dozen golfers for next year's team have said their goal is to play on the PGA Tour, McGraw said. "So, if your dream is to play the PGA Tour and you're worried about two other college golfers? Come on. You should be thankful that we have a good team and it's tough to make, because that's pushing you."

Bosco and Morgan, the two players who could have been affected by it the most, were both thrilled about Dossey and Kober returning next year.

"Sure, it will be tougher to make the team, but that's two more good teammates," McGraw said. "They understand that it's not about beating your teammate here to make the PGA Tour one day, it's about something a lot bigger than that."

MEN’S GOLF COULD BE TEAM TO BEAT

Players Mentioned

Cooper Dossey

Luke Dossey

Ryan Grider

Johnny Keefer

Colin Kober

Travis McInroe

Mark Reppe

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