What's the old saying, timing is everything?

A year ago, when Alabama's Michael Thompson broke a finger tossing a football, at least he had the decency of doing it during the fall semester. The senior eventually returned in the spring and went on to become SEC player of the year and a first-team All-American.

With word that USC's Jamie Lovemark went a little too hard to the hoop, breaking his left pinky finger playing pick-up basketball on campus Feb. 19, the only saving grace is that he's expected to be back hitting balls before the end of March. If that is actually the case, he should get in enough reps where he's could be back in full form before the Pac-10 Championship at the end of April. Still, to have arguably the best player in college golf on the DL during the meat of the spring semester isn't part of any coach's game plan.

Boys will be boys, and you can't keep college kids from being college kids while back at school. It's a shame, though, because Lovemark's injury won't just impact him but the entire Trojan squad as well, and just as the team seemed to be building momentum (two straight wins and a No. 3 ranking in the Golf World/Nike Golf coaches' poll). In working on a story about sophomore Matt Giles for this week's issue of Golf World, we talked about how solid the 1 through 4 spots looked out in Los Angeles. Giles mentioned how even Ryan Linton was solidifying himself in the No. 5 position.

"If [Ryan] plays well this semester," Giles boasted, "I've got to be honest, I don't see a team in the country that beats us. I truly believe that."

Less than a week later, I'm not sure if he's believing it anymore. In case you didn't look this morning, USC was sitting in eighth place, 24 strokes back of leader Stanford after two rounds of their home event, the USC Intercollegiate. Aside from the Cardinal, three other Pac-10 schools (California, UCLA and Washington) are all in front of the Trojans.

Think Lovemark won't be missed, if only for a month? Think again.

Chesapeake Energy, in association with Colonial CC, The Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America, announced the watch list for the 2009 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the top men’s college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during a 12-month period.

As I referenced on Campus Insider the other day, no real surprises from the Division I ranks. Last year's winner, Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State, is on the list, along with 21 other candidates (that said, omission from this list doesn't mean you are no longer eligible for the award).

Ten semifinalists will be announced April 16 with three finalists named May 7 and invited to Colonial CC in Fort Worth for the Hogan Award presentation on May 22.

Bronson Burgoon, Texas A&M
Jorge Campillo, Indiana
Bud Cauley, Alabama
Sam Cyr, Point Loma Nazarene
Rickie Fowler, Oklahoma State
Dustin Garza, Wichita State
Matt Giles, Southern California
Russell Henley, Georgia
Billy Horschel, Florida
Sihwan Kim, Stanford
Trent Leon, Oklahoma State
Jamie Lovemark, Southern California
Adam Mitchell, Georgia
Eddie Olson, UNLV
Kyle Stanley, Clemson
Zack Sucher, UAB
Hudson Swafford, Georgia
Matthew Swan, Alabama
Nick Taylor, Washington
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State
Cameron Tringale, Georgia Tech
Mike Van Sickle, Marquette

ORLANDO--From the no-news-is-good-news department, discussions during the first day of the Golf Coaches Association of America's national convention were rather pedestrian as chairman Darin Spease and three other members of the NCAA Division I men's golf committee spoke at the Doubletree Hotel outside Universal Studios, with the NCAA's Donnie Wagner joining from Indianapolis via video conference.

Spease, the senior associate director of athletics at Charlotte, reviewed most of the mechanics that will govern this year's NCAA expanded regionals (three sites to six) and revamped nationals (54 holes of stroke play with the top eight teams then competing head-to-head in match play). About the only matter that raised anything close to contention was the new Pace of Play system that will be in place for the postseason (rules officials will be using the check-point system employed by the USGA and AJGA).

Traditionalists disappointed in the format change being made at the national championship did have their voice heard when Pepperdine's John Geiberger expressed his concern about the move away from a 72-hole stroke-play competition to determine the team and individual champion, a sentiment that garnered applause from some attendees. The thing is, the match-play horse is out of the barn, at least for the foreseeable future. Talking to some of the D-I golf committee members, they believe they have to give the new format at least three to five years to play out, literally and figuratively, before even toying with the thought of returning to stroke play only. Anyone hoping sentiment might allow for a change of heart from the D-I committee is going to be disappointed.

Truthfully, the best the traditionalists can hope for would be that the committee considers having the schools play 72 holes of stroke play to determine the eight teams to go to match play rather than the 54 holes in place for 2009. At least that would allow the NCAA individual champion to be crowned after four rounds instead of the three that will now be used, which is the change that arguably has the largest number of coaches upset.

What sounded more likely to gain favor with the committee is the possibility of including 16 schools rather than eight in the match-play portion of the championship, particularly if things prove to be exciting this spring at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

Meanwhile, the most intriguing/realistic suggestion floated Monday afternoon was the idea of increasing the number of holes played at regionals from 54 to 72. Teams would play 36 holes the first day, than 18 the next two, thus keeping the event as a three-day competition and affecting costs only nominally (Point of order: any proposal to the NCAA that will cost money has a substantially harder road to travel).

Given that regionals now have only 75 players at each site, the extra round is more feasible from a logistical standpoint. Another reason to consider the idea is that considering how only five schools will advance from each regional to the NCAA Championship, having an extra round to identify the top teams would seem to make sense. Suffice it to say, the concept seemed to have the support of the coaches in attendance as a straw-poll vote showed a 47-25 tally in favor of expanding to 72 holes.

ORLANDO--With the Palmer Cup scheduled to be held in the United States in 2009, it fitting will come to Cherry Hills CC outside Denver, site of Arnold Palmer's famous U.S. Open victory in almost 49 years ago.

Cherry Hills CC pro emeritus Clayton Cole and head professional John Ogden told the audience at the Golf Coaches Association of America's annual awards banquet Monday night that the club was excited to host the event June 3-5 and test the course, which is in the final stage of a renovation that stretches it by 400 yards--to approximately 7,600 yards--and returns the bunkering to the original design of architect William Flynn.

Washington's Matt Thurmond will coach the U.S. team is it tries to win back the cup after Europe's 14-10 victory last year at Scotland's Glasgow GC. The U.S. holds a 6-5-1 overall lead in the annual competition.

Duke athletic officials were hoping to have a replacement for former men's golf coach O.D. Vincent, who resigned from the post last month, in place by the start of the spring semester. While missing their self-imposed deadline by two days--students began classes in Durham, N.C., on Jan. 7--they can be excused by the fact that they got the right person with the hiring of Charlotte men's coach Jamie Green to take over the Blue Devils program.

A source at the school confirmed Green's selection Jan. 9. A formal release was expected later in the day.

A 1993 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan, Green was in the midst of his sixth season with the 49ers. He had led the team to NCAA Championship appearances each of the past three seasons, including back-to-back top-10 showings in 2007 (T-3) and 2008 (T-8), as well as winning three straight Atlantic 10 Conference titles.

"This is easily the hardest coaching decision I've ever made," said Green in regards to stepping down at Charlotte, where he had signed a contract last April that would run through the 2011 season, the first multi-year contract for a coach at the school in any sport other than basketball.

Green met with his new Duke players formally Friday afternoon after they finished practice for the day. He'll have a final meeting with his former 49er team next Monday when the spring semester begins at Charlotte.

While at Charlotte, Green's program earned the school's first berth into the NCAA postseason (2005). At one time during the 2007-08 season, the 49ers were ranked No. 1 in the Golf World/Nike Golf coaches' poll, the first time a 49er team in any sport had earned the No. 1 ranking.

Green's ties to North Carolina (he was an assistant coach at North Carolina from 2000-03 before taking the Charlotte head job) as well as his innovative and energetic style (his 49er teams won 17 tournaments during his tenure) made him a natural fit for the Blue Devils. Meanwhile, his players had recorded the school's highest male team GPA in 2004 and 2005 and had earned Atlantic 10 student athlete of the year awards in 2006 and 2007. Each player on his 2007-08 squad at a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Charlotte assistant coach Adam Pry will take over the 49ers program as interim head coach for the spring semester. The school will delay its search for a permanent replacement until the conclusion of the 2008-09 season.

Having similarly honored Arnold Palmer a year ago, the Golf Coaches Association of America will give Jack Nicklaus its lifetime achievement award later this month at its annual Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Banquet in Orlando. Nicklaus played two seasons of college golf at Ohio State, winning the Big Ten and NCAA individual titles in 1961 before turning pro later that year and going on to have his historic career. Only last month I advocated that if the GCAA ever started a college players wing to its Hall of Fame, Nicklaus should be in the inaugural class.

"I have always embraced and respected collegiate golf for its purity and competitiveness," Nicklaus said in a press release. "My college experience was something I still cherish to this day, so to be recognized by college coaches across America is a very special and humbling honor for me."

The GCAA's national-player-of-the-year awards in Divisions I, II and III and NAIA are named after Nicklaus, with the four winners honored as his guests each year during the final round of the PGA Tour's Memorial tournament.

Nicklaus will be the fourth person to receive the GCAA lifetime achievement award, joining Karsten Solheim, Byron Nelson and Palmer. Also being honored on Jan. 26 are Hall of Fame inductee Randy Lein and Honor Award winner Lowell Lukas.

Photo credit: George Silk/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

The first half of the 2008-09 campaign wasn't anything like deja vu all over again for Derek Freeman's UCLA men's squad compared to the start of its NCAA championship run the previous season. After posting a perfect mark in the fall of 2007--two tournament wins, 21-0 overall record--the Bruins finished 12th, tied for ninth and third in three tournaments in the fall of 2008, finishing with a 20-21-1 record and falling from preseason No. 1 in the Golf World/Nike Golf coaches' poll to No. 22 by the winter break.

Needless to say, the Bruins will have to find a different means to their desired end if they're to become the first men's program in 24 years to repeat as national champions; with the sub-.500 record they have, they wouldn't current qualify for an at-large bid to NCAA regionals. To write them off, though, would be a mistake. Here are four reasons why UCLA will not only be more competitive come spring but good enough to again be a contender for the national title.

1) The spring can't be more tumultuous than the fall.
Replacing the graduating Kevin Chappell, the 2008 NCAA medalist and national player of the year, was going to be tough enough, but the Bruins also had two players (Jason Kang and Lucas Lee) unexpectedly leave school early to turn pro, one in the middle of October. Suddenly talented but inexperienced freshmen Gregor Main, Mauricio Azcue, Alex Kim and Beau Schoolcraft were no longer going to be "eased into" the college game but asked to step up and immediately perform. "That's not to say freshmen can't do it," Freeman told me recently. "But all of a sudden they had all this pressure on themselves to perform [that they weren't expecting]."

Additionally, Freeman admits that having his team play its first event, the Fighting Illini/Olympia Fields Invitational, in early September--before classes had begun in Westwood--was a mistake; recall that in the fall of 2007, UCLA didn't play its first tournament until the end of October

"I love Olympia Fields, I love the golf course, I love the competition there, but it's too early for us to play," Freeman said. "I tried that this year because I wanted to go there. I wanted my team to be able to play there but it hurt us. And so you know that's something I've learned as a coach, that's probably not the best place for us to begin our fall."

2) You can gain from your pain.
The so-so start allowed Freeman to have honest dialogues with all his players at the end of the fall about areas they could improve on in the off-season. Playing challenging courses such as Olympia Fields and Isleworth exposed "every weakness in everyone's game," Freeman said. "It's exactly what we needed to have happen in the fall. They really could evaluate where their golf games are and understand there are things they need to change if they're going to improve." Each player then developed a very specific game plan for the winter break to address their own points of emphasis.

3) They ended the fall with a good taste in their mouths.
The Bruins' third-place finish at the CordeValle Collegiate came with a tournament-best one-under 359 (they played six players and counted five) on the final day, including a closing 66 from sophomore Philip Francis, the best round of his college career, and a 67 from senior Erik Flores. "A lot of positives happened that day that are important," Freeman said, "that can really carry on into the spring and will show these guys that they can compete."

4) Flores is finally rested.
Big things were expected of the Bruins' senior All-American, particularly after he closed the summer with a runner-up finish at the Western Amateur. Truth be told, no one expected them more than Flores, who Freeman believes might have put too much pressure on himself to step up in the fall. By year's end, however, fatigue likely explained how the Grass Valley, Calif., native finished no better than 14th individually, and had a surprising 74.11 average. Luckily for Bruins' fans there is precedent for Flores to turn around a slow start to a season; in 2007-08, he finished T-25 and T-69 before finding his game in two JV events and eventually finishing the year with a 72.5 average.

O.D. Vincent, the former Duke men's golf coach as of last Sunday, started his new job today as senior director of athletics at his alma mater, the University of Washington, where he will oversee the Husky football, tennis, rowing and swim teams. Suffice it to say, UW's gain isn't only the Blue Devils' loss but also a loss for college golf overall.

During his 13 1/2 seasons as a golf coach, first with the Huskies (1995-2002), then at UCLA (2002-07) and finally in Durham, N.C., (2007-08), Vincent had become one of the sport's genuinely innovative individuals, someone unwilling to accept "well, we've always done it that way" as the primary argument for or against any idea offered in an attempt to help the game. The 40-year-old, a former Pac-10 medalist who competed briefly on the European Tour before getting into coaching, favored the new match-play format that will be used at the NCAA Championship this spring to determine a team champion. He also was considered the principle figure behind a push to update/expand the rules governing development of "junior varsity" teams.

"It's about giving more student-athlete a chance to play college golf," Vincent argued passionately when asked why he spent so much energy promoting JV golf. This past year, he hosted the Duke Coca-Cola Individual Collegiate, a first of its kind event in the modern era where schools could bring players who might not otherwise have had a shot at cracking their fall lineups, and let them get some tournament experience.

Aside from being a progressive thinker, Vincent succeeded in motivating his players and getting the most out of them on the course. His squads won two conference titles, had three top-four finishes at nationals and five top-10s. Fourteen of his players earned All-American honors and he won national coach of the year honors in 1999 and was named Pac-10 coach of the year three times. 

Cynics likely will suggest that Vincent's move back to the West Coast (he and his wife, former UW swimmer Jana Ellis, have much of their family in the Seattle area) was a result of the lawsuit filed against him and Duke last July by former Blue Devil player Andrew Giuliani regarding his dismissal from the team earlier in 2008, a case that's still under review by U.S. District Court judge in North Carolina. When I asked him yesterday if there was any connection, Vincent was adamant in saying the legal proceedings in no way instigated his departure.

"It's kind of humorous that that would be brought up," Vincent said. "After all that I've been through here, I'm not surprised. I can't tell you how far away from the truth that it. I didn't even consider it." "

The most troubling thing, in my mind, regarding Vincent's decision to leave Duke is its timing. In an era where coaches are growing more and more vocal about their disappointment in players leaving college mid-season to play in PGA or LPGA Q school, or simply turning pro even without having a tour card, it's a bit hypocritical to see a coach, particularly of Vincent's stature, doing the same thing. Vincent's departure also comes less than two weeks after he signed three blue-chip recruits--Brinson Paolini, Adam Sumrall and Julian Suri--to come to school next fall.

Vincent says he asked his new bosses in Seattle if there was any way he could defer taking the job until the end of the spring but was told no. So torn about leaving his Duke team, that Vincent turned down the UW job at first. When new Husky athletic director Scott Woodward offered the position again, however, Vincent decided he had to make the move.

"It's bittersweet obviously," Vincent said. "We had hoped the timing would be better, but it's not."

So, what now for Duke? When the school hired Vincent in June 2007 to replace Rod Myers, who coached the team for nearly 34 years before passing away from cancer earlier that spring, the athletic department in Durham, N.C., thought they had a coach who would be around longer than 18 months. Lucky for them, there are several individuals with North Carolina ties that would be solid candidates for the job (Vincent's assistant Ryan Ressa will handle the day-to-day operations in the interim). Charlotte's Jamie Green and UNC Wilmington's Matt Clark come to mind as young, energetic possibilities. Coastal Carolina coach Allen Terrill is a former Duke assistant who also would be worth considering.

There are also a few strong assistant coaches out there (Oklahoma State's Alan Bratton, Auburn's Ryan Cabbage, Cal's Walter Chun) who deserve an exploratory call.

LAS VEGAS--One of the highlights of the National Golf Coaches Association's annual convention is the Hall of Fame banquet, where the NGCA recognizes an elite group of people for there impact on the women's collegiate game (the Class of 2009 was Karen Bahnsen, Shauna Estes-Taylor and Wendy Ward; for a complete list of past honorees, click here). It's a special night for the individuals, but also for the rest of the coaches at the convention to be able to appreciate those that have come before them.

What I find particularly neat is the fact that not only are coaches included in the NGCA HofF but standout players as well. It's something that the NGCA's counterpart on the men's side, the Golf Coaches Association of America, does not do ... but really should consider for the future. There had been talk as recently as a few years ago about starting a "players wing," but the usually progressive association never took action.

The idea of recognizing the top men's college players of the past got me thinking: just who might be deserving enough to be part of the inaugural class? Let me tell you, it's a harder task than you might think. There are plenty of individuals that accomplished much while in school, but who has been such an elite college golfer as to deserve being a "charter member" of this club?

To make the prestige factor of this initial class even greater (or perhaps just to make the picking the class all the more challenging), the number of inductees should be limited the first year ... I chose to confine my selections to 24 (still a big number but small enough to make this group pretty distinct). In taking my stab at who I'd include in this first go around, I went through  media guides and online records to get a relatively broad selection of players through the years. I attempted as best I could not to be influenced by players' pro performances ... this is a "college golf" hall of fame. That said, a few of my picks went on to pretty decent careers on the PGA Tour.

Where I might come up short is players from the early eras of college golf (1900s-1950s), where the number of schools competing was minimal and quality of competition was inconsistent. That said, maybe I missed other candidates from the more modern eras of play. I'm interested in getting your feedback ... please don't be afraid to offer your comments on this.

Here goes, then, in alphabetically order:
Rex Baxter, Houston (1955-57)
    '57 NCAA medalist; led Cougars to 2 NCAA team titles
Bobby Clampett, BYU (1977-80)
    3-time 1st team AA; 2-time Haskins winner
Dick Crawford, Houston (1959-61)
    2-time NCAA champ
Ben Crenshaw, Texas (1970-73)
    3-time NCAA medalist; 3 Haskins POY awards
David Duval, Georgia Tech (1989-93)
    4-time 1st team All American; '93 Haskins winner; two ACC titles
Keith Fergus, Houston (1973-76)
    19 career wins (school record), including 2 SWC titles; 3-time 1st team AA
Gary Hallberg, Wake Forest (1976-80)
    First 4-time 1st team AA; 9 career wins
Justin Leonard, Texas (1990-94)
    '92 NCAA champ; only player to win conference title 4 times (SWC)
Phil Mickelson, Arizona State (1988-92)
    3-time NCAA medalist; 16 overall wins; 43 top-10s in 51 events; 70.81 career avg.
Lindy Miller, Oklahoma State (1974-78)
    11 career wins including 3 Big 8 titles; 16 consecutive top-10s; 71.95 avg.
Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech (1997-2001)
    4-time 1st team AA; 3 ACC POYs; 70.69 avg is NCAA career best
Jack Nicklaus, Ohio State (1960-61)
    '61 NCAA and Big Ten champ
Arnold Palmer, Wake Forest (1948-50, 1954)
    2-time Southern Conf. champ; first ACC medalist in '54
Corey Pavin, UCLA (1978-82)
    11 career wins; NCAA POY in '82; 2-time Pac-10 POY
Chris Perry, Ohio State (1980-84)
    13 career wins; 3-time 1st team AA
Sam Randolph, USC (1982-86)
    '86 Haskins winner; 3-time 1st-team AA
Scott Simpson, USC (1973-77)
    2-time NCAA champ; '77 Haskins winner; 2-time Pac-10 POY
Curtis Strange, Wake Forest (1972-76)
    8 career wins; 3-time 1st team AA; 71.17 avg. at NCAAs
Scott Verplank, Oklahoma State (1982-86)
    3-time 1st team AA; '86 NCAA medalist and Haskins winner
Fred Wampler, Purdue (1947-50)
    '50 NCAA champ; 3-time Big Ten champ; still shares school 18-hole mark (63)
Harvie Ward, North Carolina
    '49 NCAA champ
Ed White, Texas (1933-35)
    '35 NCAA champ; 3-time SWC winner
Tiger Woods, Stanford (1994-96)
    '96 NCAA champ and POY; set NCAA single season avg. record
Charlie Yates, Georgia Tech (1931-34)
    '34 NCAA champ

If you're a recent college player trying to learn the secret of how to advance to the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying school--or even a journeyman pro for that matter--you could do worse than get five minutes of Seung-Su Han's time. The 22-year-old UNLV senior shot a seven-under 281 at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla., at the second stage of Q school to finish T-15. For the second straight year, the South Korean native will be trying to earn one of the couple dozen PGA Tour cards awards at the end of the six-round marathon at PGA West in Palm Springs, Calif., Dec. 3-8.

Han now is not only the first amateur to play in Q school finals but the second amateur as well (or the first amateur to do it twice, depending on what record you’re trying to set).

Last year Han finished T-149 at the final stage, but declined the conditional Nationwide Tour card. Given he is now in his senior year of school—and the fact that he was all set to turn pro at the end of the summer until an 11th hour change of heart—it's likely Han will take whatever card he earns, turn pro and leave the Rebels, ranked 20th in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf coaches' poll a semester early.

Meanwhile, here is a list of all the players who finished up their eligibility in college last spring who advanced through second stage this past week (two more second stage sites hold 72-hole tournaments this coming week):

Hombre GC, Panama City, Fla.
Jonas Blixt, Florida State
Joseph Sykora, Alabama

Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Ga.
Derek Fathauer, Louisville
Troy Merritt, Boise State
Webb Simpson, Wake Forest

One other note: do you think Lucas Lee wishes he had a mulligan now. The former UCLA All-American who turned pro earlier in the fall finished T-58 at his second stage qualifying site in Panama City, Fla., missing out on advancing to the final stage by 13 strokes.