RRAC News
Mon, Dec 7, 2009 - [Men's Golf]
O.D. Bounds led the Rams to 109 tournament wins, including three National Championships
O.D. Bounds led the Rams to 109 tournament wins, including three National Championships

LAS VEGAS, NV: The Golf Coaches Association of America inducted seven coaches into its Hall of Fame at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Banquet at the Riviera Hotel and Casino on Monday. Former Texas Wesleyan head coach and NAIA Golf legend O.D. Bounds was among those honored.

 

Bounds, who passed away in 2004, at the age of 85, received the honor posthumously. Widely considered the father of the NAIA men's golf championship, Bounds served as golf coach and a professor at Texas Wesleyan for 40 years (1946-85). 
 
Among his 109 tournament victories were three national titles which came in 1964, 1969, and 1975. Additionally, Bounds led Texas Wesleyan to seven runner-up and five third-place finishes at the NAIA Championships. The Rams won district championships in 36 of 40 seasons and claimed 26 conference titles. The 1975 NAIA Coach of the Year, six of Bounds golfers claimed NAIA medalist honors and 33 players were named All-American.

 

Bounds became the first NAIA coach inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame. He was also the first coach inducted into the NAIA Golf Hall of Fame (1972) and the first person inducted into the Texas Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame (1976).

 

Bounds' successor and Texas Wesleyan's current head coach Bobby Cornett spoke for Bounds at the banquet. "I was really grateful for the opportunity to talk about O.D.," Cornett said. "He was a special person in my life and a special person at Texas Wesleyan, and the more people who know about him the better." Cornett played for Bounds from 1968-72, earning All-American honors in 1972, before taking over as head coach in 1985. "O.D. and his wife, Maurice, were both eternal optimists who always looked for the good in people. That was one of the attributes I admired most about him and a quality that stayed with him throughout his life. I am glad that I got to recognize some of the coaches in attendance that O.D. would have recognized. He was a leader at our school, an outstanding educator, and an outstanding human being."

 

The program that Bounds built has continued to thrive under the guidance of Bobby Cornett and Kevin Millikan. While qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament in 48 out of 55 years of membership, Texas Wesleyan is tied for the NAIA record with six national titles while taking a record nine runner-up finishes. The team has never missed the cut at the national tournament and finished outside of the top-10 on only three occasions. Nine Rams have won national individual medalist honors while 71 players have earned All-American status.

 

The 2009 GCAA Hall of Fame Class also included: Maxie Boles (Central Alabama CC), Devon Brouse (Purdue), Ronnie Choate (Sam Houston State), Steve Loy (Arizona State), Delnor Poss (Midland), and Ben Thompson (Yale).

 

The Rams are currently ranked 12th in the NAIA Coaches' Poll and 8th the Golf World/Nike Coaches' Poll after taking three second place finishes in five tournaments this fall. The Rams will tee-off in the spring semester at the Pine Needles Intercollegiate in Southern Pines, NC, March 1-2.