The 1967-68 Buffaloes: Front: Dan Dymerski, Bob Reich, Jim English, Doug Hebard; Back: Bill Opdyke, Bill Musselman, Steve Parr, Allen Hoos, Chris Scena, Coach Les Fowler.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
CU Golf Feature: 1968 A Magical Year For Colorado Golf
May 25, 2023 | Men's Golf
55th Anniversary of last conference title, best-ever NCAA finish
The second in our new monthly series on the Colorado Men's Golf Program. Features will be varied, from alumni interviews to topics of the day, etc. With the Buffaloes in Scottsdale to participate in the NCAA Championship Finals starting Friday, we'll take a look back at the '68 team that to this date has the best finish – 8th – in the 15 previous times the Buffaloes reached the finals.
1968: Magical Year for Colorado Golf
1968: Magical Year for Colorado Golf
It's the 55th anniversary of CU's last conference title in men's golf (Big Eight) and of its best-ever finish in the NCAA Championship Finals, which were held on New Mexico State University's home course in Las Cruces, some 650 miles to the south of Boulder. The team drove there on 11-year old Interstate 25, about a 13- hour trip back in the day.
"We drove everywhere, usually in CU's Geology Field bus," said Jim English, a sophomore on that Big Eight title team who had tied for third individually in the Big Eight meet. "On occasion, those with some family money would fly back while the rest of us drove back."
Prior to the NCAA's, the Buffaloes ended a decade-long reign by Oklahoma State in the Big Eight. The Cowboys had joined the conference in 1958 that made it the Big Eight, and proceeded to reel off 10 straight titles in men's golf. The Cowboys usually rolled to those victories; the Buffs did finish second twice, and in 1966, were just 10 strokes back. In '67, OSU won a weather-shortened title, with its star, Grier Jones and CU's Hale Irwin tying for medalist honors.
A senior, Irwin went on to win the NCAA title the next month; Jones returned for his senior year in Stillwater and would claim the Big Eight title after losing to Irwin in '66 before tying the Buff icon a year later. He shot an even-par 210 for three rounds at Lake Valley Golf Club, defeating CU junior Bill Musselman by two strokes to win that '68 individual crown (Jones rallied after being down one heading into the final 18).
Despite winning the Big Eight, coach Les Fowler's Colorado team arrived in Las Cruces as a huge underdog no one expected to make the 36-hole cut to 15 teams.
"We came in with no respect or recognition at all," English recalled. "Hale had just graduated and CU was an afterthought. That motivated us because, although we had no star like Hale Irwin, we had better depth in positions one through five than any of Hale's teams. And CU was considered a 'snow' school with limited year-round play and the accepted theory was that we couldn't compete with the better-weather schools.
"But we knew the New Mexico State golf course very well, because we played each year in the NMSU Intercollegiate," English added. "So this was our second crack at the tournament site that year and we were all pretty confident that we could play it well." The Buffaloes finished eighth in the fall with English and Chris Scena leading the way; Irwin was the medalist in the fall '66 event.
NMSU's course was set in a par-71 configuration (three par-5s) and covered some 7,098 yards, fairly long at that point in time for college events. The Buffaloes opened the NCAA's with a 5-over 289 team score, 10 back of leader Wake Forest (279) in 10th place. Allen Hoos paced CU that first round, fashioning a 1-under 70 that had him tied for 17th, while Jim English carded an even-par 71, tying him for 25th. OSU's Jones and Georgia's Allen Miller opened with 6-under 65s, tying the NCAA championship record at the time, set the previous year by Irwin in Shawnee-on-the-Delaware, Pa. (though Irwin's score came on a par-72 layout and was thus 7-under).
Colorado easily made the 15-team cut after 36 holes by some 10 strokes, tied with Michigan State at 13-over 581, 13 strokes behind Arizona State. Hoos continued to lead the CU attack at the midway point with a 70-72—142 scorecard, his even-par effort tying him for 17th; English was right behind at 71-72—143, tied for 20th.
The Buffaloes remained tied for seventh after three rounds, this time with Florida State at 22-over 874; Florida and Houston assumed the lead with 12-over 864 scores. Hoos continued to lead the Buffaloes, firing a 75 for a 4-over 217 total, that had him tied for 24th. Bill Musselman turned in a 3-under 68, one of just four rounds in the 60s in the third round, jumping him into 31st place. English scored a 5-over 76 and his 219 total had him tied for 37th.
In the final round, there wasn't a lot of movement, with nine strokes separating who would finish in the top nine; Florida held off Houston to claim the title with an 18-over 1,154 tally, while the Buffaloes settled into eighth place, at 36-over 1,172, one stroke back of seventh place New Mexico. The day was marred by scorching temperatures that peaked at 101 degrees and winds gusting to 25 miles per hour.
Musselman, however, was one of the top side stories of the day. In recording a second straight 68, he finished with a 2-over 286 score, all the way into a tie for eighth; it was the low score of the round and just one of two in the 60s. Hoos closed with a 74 and a 7-over 291 score to tie for 24th. OSU's Jones was the medalist with an 8-under 276 score, winning by three shots – he had a second round 68 and, in the end, only he and Musselman were the only ones in the tournament to post two scores in the 60s.
The other score in the 60s was by Florida's Richard Spears, who carded a 69, pivotal in the Gators team win.
"Bill was in sort of a funk after the first two rounds (74, 76), but Allen, myself and Chris were keeping us in the hunt," English said. "I remember Les challenging Bill at dinner after the second round and boy did he respond with back-to-back 68s to finish the tournament in style.
"And after Musselman's start, and Les observing some miserable chipping from the rest of us after the first round, Les took us all out to the gravel parking lot behind the 18th green, which was about 20 yards behind the pin on 18," English said. "He dropped three balls on the gravel and with that trusty, wooden shafted sand wedge he used, he proceeded to knock all three balls within four feet of the hole. Although we didn't have the floppy-wristed shot that Les had, we got the message, practiced in the dark for an hour and definitely chipped better the last two rounds, especially Bill.
English noted that the team stayed in the NMSU dorms during the tournament. "After the last round, when we had cracked the top 10 and had done some 'celebrating' at the course, we were ready to go back to the dorms. They were about a mile from the course as the crow flies, but over rocky terrain, with fences, cacti and desert landscapes. Chris (Scena) was up for a challenge and bet Musselman $25 that he could run back to the dorms through all those obstacles in under 10 minutes."
I can't go into some of the details of Jim's story or what the bet was based on (you can probably guess), but Scena started out at 9:30, and made it to the hotel in eight minutes to win the bet with all his teammates standing in the dark awaiting his return.
Note: the scoring format back then was the team total was derived by the total of the top four golfers after each round, not the top four scores each round of the five players. In today's five-for-four format, CU's total would have been 1,164 instead of 1,172, as fifth-man Steve Parr would have had three of his scores count.
CU Individuals
"We drove everywhere, usually in CU's Geology Field bus," said Jim English, a sophomore on that Big Eight title team who had tied for third individually in the Big Eight meet. "On occasion, those with some family money would fly back while the rest of us drove back."
Prior to the NCAA's, the Buffaloes ended a decade-long reign by Oklahoma State in the Big Eight. The Cowboys had joined the conference in 1958 that made it the Big Eight, and proceeded to reel off 10 straight titles in men's golf. The Cowboys usually rolled to those victories; the Buffs did finish second twice, and in 1966, were just 10 strokes back. In '67, OSU won a weather-shortened title, with its star, Grier Jones and CU's Hale Irwin tying for medalist honors.
A senior, Irwin went on to win the NCAA title the next month; Jones returned for his senior year in Stillwater and would claim the Big Eight title after losing to Irwin in '66 before tying the Buff icon a year later. He shot an even-par 210 for three rounds at Lake Valley Golf Club, defeating CU junior Bill Musselman by two strokes to win that '68 individual crown (Jones rallied after being down one heading into the final 18).
Despite winning the Big Eight, coach Les Fowler's Colorado team arrived in Las Cruces as a huge underdog no one expected to make the 36-hole cut to 15 teams.
"We came in with no respect or recognition at all," English recalled. "Hale had just graduated and CU was an afterthought. That motivated us because, although we had no star like Hale Irwin, we had better depth in positions one through five than any of Hale's teams. And CU was considered a 'snow' school with limited year-round play and the accepted theory was that we couldn't compete with the better-weather schools.
"But we knew the New Mexico State golf course very well, because we played each year in the NMSU Intercollegiate," English added. "So this was our second crack at the tournament site that year and we were all pretty confident that we could play it well." The Buffaloes finished eighth in the fall with English and Chris Scena leading the way; Irwin was the medalist in the fall '66 event.
NMSU's course was set in a par-71 configuration (three par-5s) and covered some 7,098 yards, fairly long at that point in time for college events. The Buffaloes opened the NCAA's with a 5-over 289 team score, 10 back of leader Wake Forest (279) in 10th place. Allen Hoos paced CU that first round, fashioning a 1-under 70 that had him tied for 17th, while Jim English carded an even-par 71, tying him for 25th. OSU's Jones and Georgia's Allen Miller opened with 6-under 65s, tying the NCAA championship record at the time, set the previous year by Irwin in Shawnee-on-the-Delaware, Pa. (though Irwin's score came on a par-72 layout and was thus 7-under).
Colorado easily made the 15-team cut after 36 holes by some 10 strokes, tied with Michigan State at 13-over 581, 13 strokes behind Arizona State. Hoos continued to lead the CU attack at the midway point with a 70-72—142 scorecard, his even-par effort tying him for 17th; English was right behind at 71-72—143, tied for 20th.
The Buffaloes remained tied for seventh after three rounds, this time with Florida State at 22-over 874; Florida and Houston assumed the lead with 12-over 864 scores. Hoos continued to lead the Buffaloes, firing a 75 for a 4-over 217 total, that had him tied for 24th. Bill Musselman turned in a 3-under 68, one of just four rounds in the 60s in the third round, jumping him into 31st place. English scored a 5-over 76 and his 219 total had him tied for 37th.
In the final round, there wasn't a lot of movement, with nine strokes separating who would finish in the top nine; Florida held off Houston to claim the title with an 18-over 1,154 tally, while the Buffaloes settled into eighth place, at 36-over 1,172, one stroke back of seventh place New Mexico. The day was marred by scorching temperatures that peaked at 101 degrees and winds gusting to 25 miles per hour.
Musselman, however, was one of the top side stories of the day. In recording a second straight 68, he finished with a 2-over 286 score, all the way into a tie for eighth; it was the low score of the round and just one of two in the 60s. Hoos closed with a 74 and a 7-over 291 score to tie for 24th. OSU's Jones was the medalist with an 8-under 276 score, winning by three shots – he had a second round 68 and, in the end, only he and Musselman were the only ones in the tournament to post two scores in the 60s.
The other score in the 60s was by Florida's Richard Spears, who carded a 69, pivotal in the Gators team win.
"Bill was in sort of a funk after the first two rounds (74, 76), but Allen, myself and Chris were keeping us in the hunt," English said. "I remember Les challenging Bill at dinner after the second round and boy did he respond with back-to-back 68s to finish the tournament in style.
"And after Musselman's start, and Les observing some miserable chipping from the rest of us after the first round, Les took us all out to the gravel parking lot behind the 18th green, which was about 20 yards behind the pin on 18," English said. "He dropped three balls on the gravel and with that trusty, wooden shafted sand wedge he used, he proceeded to knock all three balls within four feet of the hole. Although we didn't have the floppy-wristed shot that Les had, we got the message, practiced in the dark for an hour and definitely chipped better the last two rounds, especially Bill.
English noted that the team stayed in the NMSU dorms during the tournament. "After the last round, when we had cracked the top 10 and had done some 'celebrating' at the course, we were ready to go back to the dorms. They were about a mile from the course as the crow flies, but over rocky terrain, with fences, cacti and desert landscapes. Chris (Scena) was up for a challenge and bet Musselman $25 that he could run back to the dorms through all those obstacles in under 10 minutes."
I can't go into some of the details of Jim's story or what the bet was based on (you can probably guess), but Scena started out at 9:30, and made it to the hotel in eight minutes to win the bet with all his teammates standing in the dark awaiting his return.
Note: the scoring format back then was the team total was derived by the total of the top four golfers after each round, not the top four scores each round of the five players. In today's five-for-four format, CU's total would have been 1,164 instead of 1,172, as fifth-man Steve Parr would have had three of his scores count.
| T 7. Bill Musselman (Jr.) | 74-76-68-68—286 |
| T24. Allen Hoos (Sr.) | 70-72-75-74—291 |
| 34. Jim English (So.) | 71-72-76-76—295 |
| T46. Chris Scena (Sr.) | 74-72-74-80—300 |
| 55. Steve Parr (So.) | 81-75-75-77—308 |
Team Standings
| 1. Florida | 284-289-291-290—1154 |
| 2. Houston | 284-290-290-292—1156 |
| 3. Wake Forest | 279-303-287-291—1160 |
| 4. Oklahoma State | 283-286-301-292—1162 |
| 4. Texas | 295-285-287-295—1162 |
| 6. Arizona State | 282-286-300-298—1166 |
| 7. New Mexico | 298-290-291-292—1171 |
| 8. Colorado | 289-292-293-298—1172 |
| 9. Michigan State | 287-294-295-299—1175 |
| 10. Florida State | 286-286-302-306—1180 |
| 11. San Jose State | 292-294-292-306—1184 |
| 11. Stanford | 290-293-300-301—1184 |
| 13. Southern Cal | 292-296-292-305—1185 |
| 14. Michigan | 287-297-300-304—1188 |
| 14. New Mexico State | 295-293-296-304—1188 |
Join us for the 15th Annual Colorado Golf Day on August 25 at Boulder Country Club! ⛳
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