Plenty more stars where Jordan Spieth came from on Texas squad

 

With the Texas men's golf team primed for a run at a second national championship in four years, the looming question remains: Which Longhorn might emerge as the next Jordan Spieth?

 

There's a bigger question, too. Which one won't?

 

Take your pick from among a pair of gifted freshmen, starting with Scottie Scheffler, who just became Texas' second Big 12 champion in three years and each week tries to outplay teammate Doug Ghim hole by hole. Or recent Big 12 runner-up Gavin Hall, another freshman. Or sophomore wunderkind Beau Hossler. Or Kramer Hickok, the lone senior on the team and, according to his coach, "a great player who's been one of the top 20 amateurs in the country."

 

John Fields fortunately doesn't have to decide who's the next Spieth. That long-term answer will evolve on its own, but it's clear that the talented Longhorns squad seeded No. 2 nationally that just ran away with its third consecutive Big 12 team championship – and did so by a yawn-inducing, record-breaking 24-stroke margin – has any number of future PGA Tour stars.

 

"They all believe," said a beaming Fields, who has one national title and eight top-10 finishes in 18 seasons at Texas. "Every one of the guys believes, given the right opportunity, they can play with Jordan Spieth."

 

And what exactly is the right opportunity?

 

Fields' face breaks into a wide grin as he says, "Any place, any time, anywhere."

 

That might as well be the mantra for this Texas team steeped in experience despite a roster lacking in upperclassmen and facial hair. It may be young, but not many college teams can brag about upstarts who were playing in PGA Tour events, even majors, at age 16. And not just playing, but contending.

 

Hossler already has played in a pair of U.S. Opens and, in fact, led in the second round at the Olympic Club in 2012 before tying for 29th. Scheffler, a 6-foot-3-inch, 185-pounder who struggled in the fall and didn't break the top 40 in two tournaments, flushed any negativity from his game, changed clubs and shortened his swing. The results have been life-changing with two titles and a second-place finish in his past three tourneys.

 

"Scottie's incredible from 100 yards in with big-time stuff, stuff you'll see on the PGA Tour," Fields said. "Doug's got incredible ball-striking. Gavin Hall has incredible length and is an incredible athlete with incredible desire. Kramer has an unbelievable work ethic and is a guy like Tom Kite who just digs it all out."

 

Sounds like an incredible team. And a team with such ferocity that Fields said "all five of the guys will tear each other apart on the golf course."

 

The Longhorns bust each other's chops routinely, but they pair an unquenchable desire with a closeness that can't be fabricated. Hickok has become a master recruiter for Fields and helped persuade Scheffler to pick Texas over Stanford.

 

"We're extremely tough on one another," said Hickok, who rooms with Scheffler and Hall. "If you're sensitive, you'll hear about it. If you're starting to get the big head, we'll let you hear about it. Humility's a big deal around here."

 

Remember, this is a guy who won an NCAA championship ring with Spieth but still doesn't mind giving the Masters champ a reality check now and again.

 

"After he won, I told him Rogaine needs to be his next sponsor," Hickok said.

 

If Spieth's hairline is in retreat, his game certainly is not. For their part, the Longhorns aren't trying to duplicate his PGA Tour magic just yet.

 

Scheffler and his teammates have their sights set on the NCAA regional in Lubbock next week and eventually the NCAAs in Bradenton, Fla. They don't want to get ahead of themselves, even if they are regularly getting way ahead of everyone else. Consider this: Texas' top five all boast a per-round stroke average of 72 or below.

 

"You look too far in the future, anything can happen," Hickok said after the Horns posed in their Sunday best for snapshots in front of the burnt-orange UT Tower that hasn't been illuminated all that often these days.

 

While the football team limped home with a 6-7 record and the baseball team flirts with missing the 64-team NCAA tournament for the third time in four years, the golf team has gone scorched earth. It's carrying the banner for Texas athletics, along with the volleyball squad and the men's and women's swimmers, divers and tracksters, who have combined to win six Big 12 titles this year.

 

And just how good would Texas be if Spieth had hung around for his senior season?

 

"Oh, my God," Fields said.

 

Exactly.

 

This article was written by Kirk Bohls from Austin American-Statesman and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.