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Another eventful year for golf in Oklahoma is drawing to a close. Here’s a look back at some of the breaking stories that you read about exclusively here on the Golf Oklahoma website with much more coverage available in our print and digital issues, links to all below.
The year marked the debut of the Oklahoma Golf Trail, which hopefully in the future will bring many visitors to experience the rich diversity of golf in Oklahoma. And the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame inducted another brilliant class in Willie Wood, Duffy Martin, Andrew Magee, Mike McGraw and Labron Harris Jr.
There were also classes announced for the Oklahoma High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Edmond Junior Golf Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Golf Course Superintendent’s Hall of Fame. Legendary OSU women’s coach Ann Pitts Turner was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
On the course, the Oklahoma State Cowboys won the program’s 12th national championship and Alan Bratton was named coach of the year. Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City was named the youngest member of the USGA’s national junior team.
William McDonald won his second OGA State Amateur Championship in three years, holding off OSU’s Gaven Lane at Cedar Ridge. And Jenni Roller prevailed over Brooklyn Benn to win the Women’s Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur at Indian Springs while Lucy Darr won the WOGA Stroke Play title.
John Sand of Washington edged Tyson Reeder of Edmond in the Oklahoma Open at Oak Tree Country Club and CJ Phillips of Edmond won the OGA Stroke Play Championship at Shangri-La. Heath Myers repeated as Mid-Am champion. The Oklahoma team stormed past Texas in the Red River Cup Matches while Grady Thompson and Kate Moore won the OGA Junior Championship match play titles and Thompson and Juliana Hong won the Stroke Play qualifiers.
Jacob Newsom and Broken Arrow won the Class 6A boys titles while Benton Manly, Ben Lathrop and Harrison Shaw were among the state champs. Edmond North won its 11th girls Class 6A title. Beans Factor won the Class 3A crown, one of few events not to be shortened by rain,
Tracy Phillips continued to amaze, the University of Tulsa brought back men’s golf, Zach Bauchou earned his PGA Tour card, the USGA returned to the state with the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Compliance Solutions Championship made a successful debut at The Patriot for a playoff event.
The PGA of America officially announced that the PGA Championship will return to Southern Hills for a record sixth time in 2032, reported first by Golf Oklahoma among all news outlets nearly two years ago and confirmed in May.
Lots of course news as well, with the renovation of WinStar’s two courses progressing, plans for new bunkers and irrigation at LaFortune Park and South Lakes and the stunning progress at Page Belcher and the renovation of Adams Golf Course in Bartlesville (August issue link below). Golf Suites in Tulsa became Suite Shots. The simulator market continued to grow with the additions of Five Iron in Yukon and Back Nine Golf in Tulsa. And a new teaching center launched in Norman featuring former Sooners Kaitlyn Milligan and Jake Holbrook.
Corey Burd of Bailey Ranch in Owasso was rightly named the South Central Section Professional of the Year. Dan Langford and Pat McCrate were easy choices for the SC Section Hall of Fame.
Our top seniors signed to continue their careers at the collegiate levels while prized underclassmen such as Banks Cozby and Emerson Majma made their collegiate choices known.
We said goodbye to Alsie Hyden and Otis Winters among other prominent golf figures. One that we are fortunate to have with us is Oak Tree CC professional Josh Fosdick after a bizarre accident next to the Turner Turnpike.
While the University of Tulsa brought its program back, we also said goodbye, at least temporarily, to the proud Oklahoma City University men’s and women’s golf programs. This decision needs to be reversed.
The links above are to just a few of the hundreds of stories covered online by Golf Oklahoma in 2025. Make sure you also read all of the more detailed stories and features in our five print and digital issues here.
2025 Directory/Travel
Apr/May issue
June/July issue
Aug/Sept issue
Oct/Nov issue
Please check back often and we greatly appreciate the support of all of our sponsors and readers who make this possible. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and have a great 2026.
– Ken MacLeod, Publisher
