66 Mark Brooks Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee and outstanding Texas athlete, 1980-83 Mark Brooks came to Texas in 1980 to play for coach George Hannon, and his leadership and steady play helped provide stability in the transition to new coach Jimmy Clayton. Brooks was the mainstay on Longhorns teams which placed second at the 1983 NCAA Championship and won two Southwest Conference titles during his career. Brooks, a native of Dallas, came to UT with impressive high school credentials, including first-team high school All-America honors twice and victories at the 1979 Trans-Mississippi Amateur Championship, the 1979 Texas State Amateur Championship and the 1978 Future Masters Championship. As a freshman, Brooks was voted team MVP, named All-SWC and earned honorable mention All-America honors. His best finish came at the Southwest Conference Championships, where he finished in fifth to lead all Longhorn players. In his sophomore campaign, Brooks proved that he was one of the top amateur golfers in the nation. He won a second Texas State Amateur title and claimed victory at the prestigious Southern Amateur. Brooks led the team in scoring in five of his 12 tournament appearances for the Longhorns and finished in the Top Five four times. Brooks also tied for ninth at the SWC Championship, but his final-round 69 assured the Longhorns of the team title. He led the squad in scoring average that year, was voted team MVP and earned All-SWC honors for the second straight season. Brooks entered his junior year as the best player on a talented Longhorns squad. He fired out of the gates and placed fourth at the SWC Fall Championships and was runner-up at the All-College Invitational. The spring season then saw Brooks fall into an uncharacteristic slump as he only fin- BROOKS TEXAS VICTORIES AND HONORS LSU Invitational (1982, senior) Harvey Penick Intercollegiate (1982, senior) Homberg Intercollegiate (1983, senior) All-America Intercollegiate (1983, senior) First-team All-American (1983) Third-team All-American (1982) Honorable mention All-American (1981) All-Southwest Conference (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983) ished in the Top 10 once in his first five tournament appearances. Like all great athletes, Brooks found his game when it mattered the most, finishing third at the SWC Championship as the Longhorns placed third overall. Brooks would cap off his season by placing second at the Southern Intercollegiate and tying for sixth at the NCAA Championship. Brooks strong finish would earn him third team All-American honors and All-SWC honors. Victory would finally belong to Brooks during his senior year as he won four collegiate tournaments. He opened up the fall with a win at the LSU Invitational and closed it out by capturing the Harvey Penick Intercollegiate title. During the spring, Brooks would medal at the Homberg Intercollegiate and the All- America Intercollegiate. He then rounded out his career with a fifth-place finish at the SWC Championship, helping lead the Longhorns to another title, and a ninth place showing at the NCAA Championship where Texas was runner-up. As a result of his outstanding performance, Brooks earned a fourth straight appearance on the All-SWC team and was named a first-team All- American. Brooks turned professional in 1983 and has earned over $7 million on the PGA Tour. He has notched seven victories, including the 1996 PGA Championship. His play in 1996 placed him third on the Tour's money list. MARK BROOKS as a Longhorn Brooks was the mainstay on Longhorns teams which placed second at the 1983 NCAA Championship and won two SWC titles during his career. In addition to earning four victories as a senior and being named All-SWC four years in a row, his leadership and steady play helped him earn first-team All-America honors as a senior. 2004-05
Jimmy Clayton Texas head coach, 1982-97 COACHING HIGHLIGHTS: JIMMY CLAYTON Inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in 1999 Eight Southwest Conference Championships, including seven in a row from 1989-95 Nine top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including second place in 1983, 1989 and 1994 1983 team won the Jack Nicklaus/MacGregor Trophy as the nation s top ranked team SWC Coach of the Year six times (1983, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995) NCAA District VI Coach of the Year three times (1990, 1993 and 1994 ) Sixteen of his players earned All-America honors 32 times (10 first team, six second team, three third team and 13 honorable mention) Coached three Collegiate Players of the Year (Bob Estes [1988], Justin Leonard [1994] and Brad Elder [1997]) Coached the 1997 Ben Hogan Academic Player of the Year (Jeff Fahrenbruch) Jimmy Clayton inherited the highly touted and two-time national champion University of Texas golf program from George Hannon in 1982, and continued the program s tradition of excellence as the school s first full-time golf coach. In his 16 seasons as head coach, Clayton brought home eight Southwest Conference titles and six Top Five NCAA finishes as all 16 of his teams qualified for the NCAA Championships. In addition, his 1983, 1989 and 1994 teams were NCAA runners-up. As a coach, Clayton was voted Southwest Conference Coach of the Year six times by his peers and NCAA District VI Coach of the Year three times. In 1999, Clayton was further recognized by his induction into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. At Texas, Clayton had a winning streak of seven straight SWC Championships, spanning from 1989 to 1995. He coached 16 student-athletes to 32 All- America honors, including three Collegiate Players of the Year: Bob Estes in 1988, NCAA individual champion Justin Leonard in 1994 and NCAA runner-up Brad Elder in 1997. Leonard and Estes are among Clayton s life list of former players currently on the PGA tour, including Mark Brooks (1980-83), Brandel Chamblee (1981-84), Omar Uresti (1988-91) and Harrison Frazar (1992-95). The coaching philosophy behind Clayton s player and team successes was rather simple according to him. Collegiate golf is a team sport, but golf is an individual game. I always told my players they have two opportunities to win, one with a team and the other as an individual, said Clayton. It is a unique combination. After 26 years of coaching, Clayton announced his retirement at the end of the 1997 season. In his final season, Texas finished second in the inaugural Big 12 Championship and two of his players received top collegiate honors. Brad Elder was named the Jack Nicklaus College Player of the Year, and Jeff Fahrenbruch received the Ben Hogan Trophy for combined academic and athletic accomplishment. This marked the first time that both national honors went to players from a single university. Prior to joining the Longhorns coaching ranks, Clayton spent 10 years as head coach at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. There, his teams won 81 of the 113 tournaments they entered, including eight conference championships and four second-place finishes at the National Junior College Tournament. A native of Kermit, Texas, Clayton won the 1964 State High School Championship for the Yellowjackets. He then attended North Texas State University (now University of North Texas), where he became a two-time Missouri Valley Conference medalist and was twice selected as an All- American. At North Texas State, Clayton earned two degrees a bachelor s degree in secondary education in 1969 and a master s degree in education in 1970. Clayton may have retired from coaching, but he still continues to actively work for the promotion and growth of collegiate golf. Since 1998 Clayton has served as associate director of the College Golf Foundation. He also served as tournament director of both the third annual Rolex Match Play Championship for Division I men and women and the inaugural Division II Rolex Match Play Championship. 67 In his 16 seasons as head coach, Clayton brought home eight Southwest Conference titles and six top five NCAA finishes as all 16 of his teams qualified for the NCAA Championships. In addition, his 1983, 1989 and 1994 teams were NCAA runners-up. Clayton coached 16 student-athletes to 32 All-America honors, including three Collegiate Players of the Year. www.texassports.com
68 Crenshaw carded a fourround total of 273 to become the first freshman ever to take home the NCAA individual crown. In recognition of his talents, Crenshaw earned first-team All-American honors and was the recipient of the 1971 Fred Haskins Award, given to the nation s most outstanding collegiate golfer. As a sophomore, Crenshaw continued to dominate as he earned six tournament medals in 10 tries, including his first Southwest Conference Championship title and a share of the NCAA Championship crown with teammate Tom Kite. BEN CRENSHAW as a Longhorn Ben Crenshaw Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee and outstanding Texas athlete, 1971-73 One of the finest players that collegiate golf has ever seen, Ben Crenshaw dominated the college links during his career at Texas. He earned 18 collegiate victories, including three national championships and two conference crowns, in only three seasons. Crenshaw, an Austin native, graduated from Austin High School in 1970 after winning back-to-back individual state titles in 1969 and 1970. A month after graduation, Crenshaw played in the U.S. Open Championship at Minneapolis and was the low amateur in the tournament. He then burst onto the college scene in the fall of 1970. In 11 tournaments, Crenshaw notched five victories and finished out of the Top 10 only once. At the 1971 NCAA Championship, One of the finest players that collegiate golf has ever seen, Crenshaw was named a first-team All-American for the second straight year and was honored with a second Fred Haskins Award for his outstanding play. In his final year as a collegiate golfer, Crenshaw recorded seven more victories and nine Top 10 finishes in 10 tournament appearances. He captured a second straight Southwest Conference title and an unprecedented third consecutive NCAA individual title, which secured him first-team All-American honors for the third time and a third Fred Haskins Award. He finished his career with an astonishing 70.61 stroke average, and in 31 tournament appearances, never finished out of the Top 20. Crenshaw would earn a place in the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1984. Crenshaw turned professional in 1973 after his junior year at Texas. He made an immediate impact on the PGA Tour, winning the San Antonio-Texas Open that same year. He would follow that performance with 18 more Tour victories, including the 1984 and 1995 Masters Tournaments. To date, Crenshaw has earned almost $7 million on the Tour. Crenshaw also was a member of four U.S. Ryder Cup teams (1981, 1983, 1987, 1995) and two World Cup squads (1987, 1988). His proudest moment as a professional came in 1999, when he captained the U.S. Ryder Cup Team to victory. Crenshaw, who joined the Senior PGA Tour in 2001, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Nov. 15, 2002. CRENSHAW S TEXAS VICTORIES AND HONORS Goldman Intercollegiate (1970, freshman) Border Olympics (1971, freshman) Harvey Penick Intercollegiate (1971, freshman) Lakeway Intercollegiate (1971, freshman) NCAA Championship (1971, freshman) Atascocita Intercollegiate (1972, sophomore) Border Olympics (1972, sophomore) Morris Williams Intercollegiate (1972, sophomore) Lakeway Intercollegiate (1972, sophomore) SWC Championship (1972, sophomore) NCAA Championship, tie (1972, sophomore) Trinity Intercollegiate (1973, junior) Pan American Intercollegiate (1973, junior) Border Olympics (1973, junior) Aztec Intercollegiate (1973, junior) Morris Williams Intercollegiate (1973, junior) SWC Championship (1973, junior) NCAA Championship (1973, junior) Fred Haskins Award Nation s Most Outstanding Collegiate Golfer (1971, 1972, 1973) First-team All-American (1971, 1972, 1973) NCAA Individual Champion (1971, 1972 [tied], 1973) SWC Individual Champion (1972, 1973) Ben Crenshaw dominated the college links during his career at Texas. He earned 18 collegiate victories, including three national championships and two conference crowns, in only three seasons. 2004-05
George Hannon Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee and Texas head coach, 1964-81 Following in the footsteps of the great Harvey Penick would appear to be a daunting task for most, but to George Hannon it was just the first step on the road to Longhorns immortality. When Hannon took over the Texas men s golf team in 1963, it was in an uncharacteristic slump. He took his Longhorns squad and made an immediate statement by leading them to the Southwest Conference title. Hannon would follow his debut with a string of conference crowns and a pair of national championships, helping to rejuvenate the Texas program and bring Longhorns golf into the modern era. He was one of the preeminent golf coaches of the day, said Warren Chancellor, Longhorns golfer from 1970-73 and current head golf professional at Houston s Lochinvar Golf Club. He was a brilliant teacher and had incredible talent evaluation skills. Hannon found Chancellor in Sulphur Springs, Texas, a small town in the eastern part of the Lone Star State. One of Hannon s skills was finding talented players in out-of-the-way areas and molding them into great golfers. He was not a technical teacher, said Chancellor. He would not push a style or a type of swing on a player like some coaches would. He liked to stress the mental aspect of the game. As a player, he understood the emotions a player goes through on the course. In 18 years, Hannon s teams would collect nine conference trophies. Under his guidance, seven Longhorns earned Southwest Conference medalist honors, including Ben Crenshaw in 1972 and 1973. The highlight of Hannon s career came in 1971 and 1972, when he led the Longhorns to back-to-back NCAA Championships. Hannon coached Ben Crenshaw to two outright individual national titles in 1971 and 1973, and Crenshaw shared the championship with teammate Tom Kite in 1972. A native of Kemp, Texas, Hannon went on to graduate from Mineola (Texas) High School before enrolling at The University of Texas at Austin. After a stint in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1944, he returned to UT and COACHING HIGHLIGHTS: GEORGE HANNON Back-to-Back NCAA Championship Teams (1971 and 1972) Nine Southwest Conference Championship Teams (1964, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981) Four All-America Awards Ben Crenshaw (1971, 1972, 1973) Tom Kite (1972) its School of Pharmacy. After leaving UT, Hannon turned professional and went to work as an assistant at Austin Municipal Golf Course under Tom Penick, Texas first golf coach from 1927-30. In 1950 Hannon left Austin to become the head pro at Breckenridge Country Club in Breckenridge, Texas. In 1952 he then moved to Marshall, Texas, to become the head pro at Marshall Country Club. In 1954, Hannon left Marshall to become an assistant to Graham Ross at the Dallas Athletic Country Club. It was here that Hannon got his first taste of college coaching as an assistant to Ross at SMU. Hannon then returned to Austin in 1961 to take the job as head pro at Austin Municipal Golf Course. In 1963, the same year he accepted the head coaching job at Texas, Hannon became the head pro at the Morris Williams Golf Course while retaining his post at Austin Municipal. After stepping down from his position at Texas in 1981, Hannon remained at the Morris Williams course until 1995. A 1989 inductee to the Longhorn Hall of Honor, Hannon still lives in Austin with his wife, Jo, and remains active as a rules official for local AJGA, South Texas PGA and college tournaments. Hannon received the 2000 Honor Award from the Golf Coaches Association of America for lifetime achievement in the game of golf. 69 Eight Individual SWC Champions When Hannon took over the Texas men s golf team in 1964, it was in an uncharacteristic slump. He took his Longhorns squad and made an immediate statement by leading them to the Southwest Conference title. In 18 years, Hannon s teams would collect eight conference trophies and a pair of NCAA Championships. www.texassports.com
Tom Kite Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee and outstanding Texas athlete, 1969-72 70 Tom Kite stands in history as one of the greatest amateur and professional golfers of all time. A competitive golfer since the age of 11, Kite continues to perform at a consistently high level, year in and year out. An Austin native, Kite came to the University of Texas in 1969 after graduating from McCallum High School. At McCallum, Kite won the Texas state high school individual championship in 1967 and 1968. He then became a solid contributor for the Longhorns as a freshman and was the low Texas player at the 1969 NCAA Championship. As a sophomore, Kite made a name for himself on the amateur and collegiate golf circuits. He not only earned his first collegiate victory at the 1970 Border Olympics, but finished second at the Southwest Conference Championship to teammate Dean Overturf. Following the 1970 NCAA Championship in which he placed fourth as the Longhorns finished in sixth, Kite was a runner-up at the Western, Eastern, Southern and U.S. Amateur tournaments and played on the U.S. Amateur Team in Madrid, Spain. Postseason honors for Kite included being named a second-team All- American. It was during Kite s junior year that the Texas golf program fully blossomed under head coach George Hannon. Kite notched tournament victories at the LSU Corbett Intercollegiate, Atascocita Intercollegiate, Longhorn Intercollegiate and the All-Dixie Intercollegiate while helping to lead the KITE S TEXAS VICTORIES AND HONORS Border Olympics (1970, sophomore) LSU Corbett Intercollegiate (1971, junior) Atascocita Intercollegiate (1971, junior) Longhorn Intercollegiate, tie (1971, junior) All-Dixie Intercollegiate (1971, junior) Harvey Penick Intercollegiate (1971, senior) All-America Intercollegiate (1971, senior) Trinity Intercollegiate (1972, senior) NCAA Championship, tie (1972, senior) First-team All-American (1972) Second-team All-American (1970, 1971) Walker Cup team member (1971) Longhorns to their first NCAA title. Kite again earned second-team All-American honors, was selected to the 1971 Walker Cup team and earned an exemption to play in the 1971 Masters. Kite then reached the pinnacle of his collegiate career during the 1971-72 season. After recording tournament victories at the Harvey Penick Intercollegiate, All- America Intercollegiate, and the Trinity Intercollegiate, he and teammate Ben Crenshaw split the NCAA individual title while leading Texas to its second straight National Championship. Kite was selected first-team All- American and was honored in 1984 with a spot in the Longhorn Hall of Honor. During the summer of 1972, Kite turned professional and has become one of the alltime greats of the PGA Tour. He has racked up 19 Tour victories, including the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Kite is the first person in PGA Tour history to reach the $6 million, $7 million, $8 million and $9 million marks in career earnings. A member of seven U.S. Ryder Cup teams and two World Cup squads (1984, 1985), he also served as captain for the 1997 U.S. Ryder Cup team. Kite joined the Senior PGA Tour in 2000 and has posted five career wins, including the 2000 Countrywide Tradition (a Senior Tour major). He has earned almost $11 million on the PGA Tour and almost $7 million on the Senior PGA Tour. TOM KITE as a Longhorn Tom Kite stands in history as one of the greatest golfers of all time. A competitive golfer since the age of 11, Kite continues to perform at a consistently high level year in and year out. During his tenure on the Longhorns squad, Kite earned nine collegiate victories and was selected first-team All-American. In 1984, UT honored Kite with a place in the Longhorn Hall of Honor. 2004-05
Justin Leonard Outstanding Texas athlete, 1990-94 LEONARD S TEXAS VICTORIES AND HONORS Southwest Conference Championship (1991, freshman) Harvey Penick Intercollegiate (1991, sophomore) Augusta College Invitational (1992, sophomore) Southwest Conference Championship (1992, sophomore) NCAA Central Regional Championship (1992, sophomore) Red River Classic (1992, junior) Morris Williams Intercollegiate (1993, junior) Southwest Conference Championship (1993, junior) Southwest Conference Championship (1994, senior) NCAA Championship (1994, senior) Fred Haskins Award Nation s Most Outstanding Collegiate Golfer (1994) Arnold Palmer Award NCAA Individual Medalist (1994) NCAA Individual Champion (1994) First-team All-American (1992, 1993, 1994) Second-team All-American (1991) Southwest Conference Male Athlete of the Year (1994) All-Southwest Conference (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) Justin Leonard is one of the rising young stars in professional golf. In his four years as a Longhorn, he made his mark as one of the top golfers to ever play at The University of Texas. Leonard came to Austin in 1990 after a stellar high school career in which he won individual state titles in 1989 and 1990 at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas. As a true freshman, Leonard made an immediate impact on the team as he placed in the Top 10 in nine tournaments and became the first freshman to earn medalist honors at the Southwest Conference Championship. For his outstanding play, Leonard earned second-team All-America honors. During the 1991-92 season, Leonard grabbed the attention of the entire golf world as he won the 1992 U.S. Amateur Championship; coincidentally, the same year Tom Kite won the U.S. Open Championship. Leonard also recorded victories at the 1992 Southern Amateur Championship and the 1992 Western Amateur Championship, establishing himself as one of the best amateur golfers in the world. Collegiate tournament victories for Leonard included wins at the Harvey Penick Intercollegiate, the Augusta College Invitational, a second SWC title and a victory at the NCAA Central Regional. Leonard again made the All- SWC Team and earned first-team All-America honors. Leonard then secured his spot as the No. 1 ranked amateur in the nation in 1993, as he again captured the Southern and Western Amateur titles. First-team All-America honors again went to Leonard as he finished in the Top 10 in eight of the nine tournaments in which he competed, including victories at the Red River Classic, the Morris Williams Intercollegiate and the SWC Championship. His three consecutive SWC titles were matched only by former Longhorn Ed White from 1933-35. Even with all of his success, victory would not come so easy to Leonard during his senior year. Although he would place in the Top Five in seven tournaments, a title escaped Leonard until the 1994 SWC Championship, where he walked away with an unprecedented fourth straight conference trophy. The next win for Leonard would come at the biggest tournament of the year, the 1994 NCAA Championship. It was there that he earned medalist honors and led the Longhorns to a second place finish. Leonard earned first-team All-America honors and was named the Southwest Conference Male Athlete of the Year for his accomplishments. As a squad, the Longhorns claimed 15 team titles in four seasons with Leonard on the course, including four consecutive SWC Championships and one NCAA Central Regional title. In all, the team would place in the Top Five 33 times during Leonard s career. Since joining the PGA Tour in 1994, Leonard has been a mainstay at the top of the money list. He has earned over $16 million on the Tour, and his seven PGA wins include a victory at the 1997 British Open Championship at Royal Troon. There, at age 25, he became the second youngest player to win the title. 71 JUSTIN LEONARD as a Longhorn As a Longhorn, Justin Leonard made his mark as one of the school s top golfers ever, earning 10 collegiate victories. Now, Leonard is one of the rising young stars on the PGA Tour. In 1997 at age 25, he became the second youngest player to win the British Open Championship. www.texassports.com
72 Harvey Penick Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee and Texas head coach, 1931-63 Harvey Penick is regarded by many as the greatest teacher that golf has ever known. One of the true gentlemen of the game, Penick dedicated his life to helping players of all skill levels. He touched the lives of everyone he came in contact with. No one can help but enjoy being around Harvey, said former University of Texas golfer Tom Kite in the 1997 book The Wisdom of Harvey Penick. He truly knows, loves and understands people, and people truly enjoy being around him. What set Penick apart from other teaching pros was his unique style and his approach to the game. Penick was never one to push a style on a pupil or at any time criticize a person. I am real fortunate to have been a student of his, said Susan Watkins, head coach of the Texas women s golf team. When you went to him to work on your golf game, you really experienced other facets of life. He was very simple and very clear and always left you with questions in the back of your mind. He did that for a reason; he wanted you to figure some things out for yourself. Penick s uncharactaristic approach to coaching brought the Texas golf program unparalled success in his 33 years as head coach. He guided the Longhorns to 20 of a possible 33 Southwest Conference titles, coaching 19 individual conference medalists along the way. Under Penick s tutelage, Texas placed in the Top 10 of the NCAA Championships eight times, including a runner-up finish in 1949. In 1969, Penick was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor. Penick, a native of Austin, began his storied career at the age of eight as a caddy at the Austin Country Club. In June of 1923, at the age of 18, he was promoted to head pro and held the position until 1971, when he was succeeded by his son Tinsley. In that time, Penick counseled thousands of players including Betsy Rawls, Davis Love III, Cindy Figg- Currier, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw. Although well-known in the golf community for most of his life, Penick did not gain the international recognition that he deserved until he, along with writer Bud Shrake, became the best-selling author of three books. Published in 1992, Harvey COACHING HIGHLIGHTS: HARVEY PENICK 20 Southwest Conference Championship Teams (1932-38, 1940-47, 1949-52, 1954) 19 Individual SWC Champions One NCAA Individual Champion Ed White (1935) Eight Top 10 NCAA Championship Finishes (4th-1933; 5th-1934; 6th-1941; 2nd-1949; 4th-1952; 6th-1953; 8th-1954; 6th-1963) Penick s Little Red Book became the best-selling sports book of all time. It spent 54 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Little Red Book became a cultural phenomenon, and golfers all over the globe became engrossed in the teachings of the legendary golf instructor. The book was, for over 60 years, nothing but bits of wisdom that Penick scribbled in a small red notebook that he kept in his briefcase. In fact, no one had ever seen these notes except for Tinsley Penick. Then in 1991, Shrake became fortunate enough to earn the opportunity to help Penick publish his notes. Penick s second literary effort, And If You Play Golf, You re My Friend, matched the success of the first novel, as did his third book published shortly after his death, For All Who Love the Game. What a joy it will be for people who are serious about their game to read about Harvey Penick s life of helping others, said Crenshaw in Schrake s The Wisdom of Harvey Penick. Those of us who are lucky enough to have been around him for a while have truly been touched by a man with unfailing courtesy and generosity, a special kindness the likes of which I have never before witnessed in any man. Penick passed away at the age of 90 on the Sunday prior to the 1995 Masters Tournament. As a tribute to his mentor and lifelong friend, Crenshaw took home the green jacket after edging another Penick protégé, Davis Love III, by one stroke. An emotional Crenshaw dedicated his victory to Penick, whose legacy will live for as long as the game of golf is played. Penick was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Nov. 15, 2002. Harvey Penick is regarded by many as the greatest teacher that golf has ever known. One of the true gentlemen of the game, Penick dedicated his life to helping players of all skill levels. He touched the lives of everyone he came in contact with. 2004-05
Ed White Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee and outstanding Texas athlete, 1933-35 Ed White stands in history as perhaps the greatest collegiate golfer at The University of Texas who never turned professional. White became the first Longhorn to claim NCAA individual medalist honors when he won the title in 1935. White earned three letters (1933-35) while playing for legendary Texas coach Harvey Penick. During his time in Austin, White led the Longhorns to three consecutive Southwest Conference team titles while earning SWC individual medalist honors in each of those three seasons. His feat was not duplicated for almost another 50 years, when Texas Justin Leonard won four consecutive SWC individual titles from 1991-94. As a sophomore in 1933, White paced the Longhorns to a fourth-place team finish at the NCAA Championship. He returned in his junior season to help Texas to a fifth-place showing at the 1934 NCAA Championship. White also reached the finals of the NCAA Individual Championship as a junior, before losing a heart-breaking match to Charley Yates of Georgia Tech. During his senior campaign in 1935, White marched through the field at the NCAA Individual Championship at the Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C. He defeated such stars as Charley Kocsis and G.A. Menard, before avenging his defeat to Yates to advance to the title match. In the finals, White posted a 5-and-4 victory over Fred Haas, Jr. of LSU to claim individual medalist honors. Following his senior season, White entered the U.S. Amateur and advanced to the Round of 16 before falling to Johnny Goodman. He also was a member of the prestigious United States Walker Cup team that defeated Great Britain in 1936. WHITE S TEXAS VICTORIES AND HONORS NCAA Championship (1935, senior) NCAA Championship runner-up (1934, junior) Southwest Conference Championship (1935, senior) Southwest Conference Championship (1934, junior) Southwest Conference Championship (1933, sophomore) Member of the U.S. Walker Cup team that defeated Great Britain in 1936 The 1936 Cactus Yearbook wrote, Ed White is undoubtedly the best golfer ever to take club in hand for the University. His fame is nationwide; his future one of the brighest among American amateurs. Contrary to those accounts, White did not pursue his golf career following his collegiate days. Instead, he worked as a petroleum engineer for Gulf Oil in Houston. In his Little Red Book, Harvey Penick lists his best boys, among them (Ed) White, Morris Williams, Jr., Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw. Of White, Penick wrote: He beat Fred Haas, Jr., in the finals of the NCAA. Fred told me Ed was the best player he ever saw. Ed never turned pro. There wasn t enough money on the Tour in those days to suit Ed. White was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1972 and later into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. A Houston native, White passed away in 1999 at the age of 85. 73 In his Little Red Book, Harvey Penick lists his best boys, among them (Ed) White, Morris Williams, Jr., Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw. Of White, Penick wrote: He beat Fred Haas, Jr., in the finals of the NCAA. Fred told me Ed was the best player he ever saw. Ed never turned pro. There wasn t enough money on the Tour in those days to suit Ed. www.texassports.com