Baylor Men’s Golf Tees Off Spring Season with New Leadership, Renewed Focus at Brentwood Intercollegiate
MONTGOMERY, Texas - A new chapter begins for Baylor men’s golf this week, as interim head coach Ryan Murphy leads the Bears into the Brentwood Intercollegiate with a mix of experience, fresh energy, and a clear sense of purpose.
Murphy, who steps in following the retirement of longtime head coach Mike McGraw, isn’t shying away from the responsibility that comes with the role. After spending the last 13 months as an assistant with the men’s program-and a decade before that as head coach of the Texas women’s team-Murphy understands what’s at stake.
“I wouldn’t use the word pressure. I feel responsible, for sure,” Murphy said.
“That’s probably the overriding feeling. I’m responsible to carry on the things that [McGraw] did when he was here to make this program great.”
That mission starts Monday at Brentwood Country Club, where Baylor will compete in a 14-team field that leans heavily regional. Eleven of the programs hail from Texas, Arkansas, or Louisiana.
Baylor enters as the top-ranked team in the field at No. 105 in the latest Scoreboard rankings, just ahead of VCU (112) and Tarleton State (114). Host Sam Houston checks in at No.
For senior Jonas Appel, the tournament offers a clean slate and a chance to build momentum after a fall season that left the Bears with ground to make up. Appel led the team in the fall with a 72.07 scoring average and notched a top-10 finish at the Pearl at Kalauaho Invitational in Hawaii.
“I think Brentwood is a great first tournament for the spring,” Appel said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity. I think the guys are just ready to go compete and build off the work and practice that we’ve been putting in and look to improve from the fall.”
There’s urgency behind that mindset. Baylor’s fall campaign included a 25-45 head-to-head record across five tournaments, with a sixth-place finish at the Trinity Forest Invitational as the high-water mark.
To earn an NCAA Regional bid, the Bears will need to finish the season at .500 or better-or win the Big 12 Championship outright. That’s the reality of the road ahead.
Still, Murphy is keeping the focus internal.
“We just focus on the things that we can control,” he said. “The really good players know exactly how good their putting is, or they know exactly how good their driving is. So, if you’re paying attention to your golf game, you’ll know where the margin for improvement lies.”
Baylor’s lineup at Brentwood is anchored by Appel in the No. 1 spot, followed by senior transfer Evan Vo, junior Davis Ovard, UConn transfer Alex Heard, and sophomore Vincent Stjernfeldt. Stjernfeldt quietly put together a strong fall with a 72.25 average and three top-25 finishes.
Vo returns to the lineup for the first time since the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate, while freshman Tyler Sanford will make his collegiate debut. Sanford joins fellow freshman Patrick Babb and senior Sam Dossey as individuals in the 81-player field, which also includes individual entries from TCU and Rice.
The full field includes Central Arkansas, East Texas A&M, Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, Oakland, Ohio, Prairie View A&M, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern, and Texas Southern.
Baylor will be paired with VCU and Sam Houston for Monday’s opening round, which begins with an 8 a.m. shotgun start in the 54-hole tournament.
There’s work to do, no doubt. But with a veteran core, a new leader at the helm, and a clear sense of what it’ll take to get back in the postseason conversation, the Bears know exactly where they stand-and what comes next.