SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – After starting their college careers as runners-up at the 2019 national championship, three years later the Texas trio of Cole Hammer and twin brothers Parker and Pierceson Coody are walking away with the trophy.
The Longhorns defeated hosts Arizona State 3-1-1 in the final match of the 2022 NCAA Div. I Men’s Golf Championship on Wednesday at Grayhawk Golf Club for their fourth national title in program history (1971, 1972, 2012) and second in the match-play era began in 2009.
Parker Coody put the first point on the board with a runaway 6-and-5 win over James Leow, but the Sun Devils quickly responded with a 3-and-2 win from Mason Andersen over Hammer. Pierceson Coody joined his brother on the winning side of the matches after he took down Preston Summerhays, 2 and 1. Travis Vick put the decisive third point on the board with a 1-up win over Cameron Sisk to seal the deal.
Hammer and the Brothers Coody were key members of the 2019 team that lost to Stanford in the final match at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The senior leaders knew how draining championship week can be, and they were ready for the tests presented by Grayhawk and Arizona State.
“One of the things we talked about last night was how you get on such emotional highs, especially when you be a team that’s as good as Oklahoma State, then we end up beating a very hot Vanderbilt, you get on such emotional highs with those wins,” said Parker Coody, who went 2-1 in matches. “We talked about how to get ready for (the final). Pierceson, Cole and I remember that was the first time our phones blew up, because we took out the state of Oklahoma (in 2019), and with the short turnaround we were just drained. We talked about it last night, how important it was to get ready for today.”
All three seniors pointed to the importance of living through the defeat in 2019, with head coach John Fields admitting the lack of experience in a national championship weighed heavily into their defeat to Stanford. Three years later it was a 15th club in the bag.
“Now they’ve added the experience and they still have the enthusiasm,” said Fields of his seniors. “They’ve done the hard work, they’ve done the heavy lifting, and now they’re national champions.”