Cowboy Golf Camp
Donnie Darr
Cowboy Assistant Coach
Since making his return to Stillwater in 2015, Donnie Darr has helped the Oklahoma State program maintain its standard of excellence on and off the golf course.
Last year, the Cowboys won four times and capped the year with their sixth consecutive NCAA Regional crown before garnering the 57th top-five showing at the NCAA Championship in program history.
Darr helped Eugenio Chacarra garner first-team All-America status for the second year in a row, while Aman Gupta and Brian Stark claimed third-team honors. On six occasions, Cowboys captured medalist honors as well.
Academically, Stark was joined by Jonas Baumgartner and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen as All-American Scholars.
This 2020-21 campaign was no different as the Cowboys advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the second consecutive championship and captured their second Big 12 title in a row. Overall, OSU secured five tournament titles, including the program’s fifth consecutive NCAA regional title.
Individually, the Cowboys produced three All-Americans with Chacarra, Austin Eckroat and Bo Jin all achieving the feat.
In the classroom, Gupta, Neergaard-Petersen and Stark were all named All-America Scholars.
The shortened 2019-20 campaign saw Eckroat achieve All-America status, while Ferdinand Müller and Neergaard-Petersen were tabbed as Academic All-Americans.
In 2018-19, Darr helped guide the Oklahoma State golf team to its third consecutive top-five NCAA finish and its second consecutive No. 1 ranking to conclude the year.
The Cowboys captured six tournament titles, including the Big 12 title, and swept the national player of the year honors with Viktor Hovland being named the Ben Hogan Award recipient, while Matthew Wolff garnered the Fred Haskins Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award.
With Darr’s assistance, the Cowboys had first-team All-Americans in Hovland and Wolff as well as a third-team selection in Eckroat. Zach Bauchou was received honorable mention recognition.
In the classroom, OSU produced five Academic All-Big 12 selections, giving OSU 12 over the past two seasons. Additionally, Hayden Wood was named an Academic All-American for the second year in a row.
The 2017-18 season, the third in his return to the program, will go down as one of the most memorable in the storied history of Cowboy golf. OSU captured its 11th NCAA title while matching the program’s single-season marks for victories (10) and consecutive victories (7).
The Cowboys won the national title at Karsten Creek, their home course, signaling the first time in four tries they have done so on home turf.
Individually, the Cowboys racked up honors on and off the course. Five Cowboys received All-America honors led by first-team selections Hovland and Wolff. In addition to Hovland and Wolff, Bauchou was chosen to participate in the Palmer Cup.
Wolff was also named the Phil Mickelson Award recipient as the nation’s outstanding freshman as well as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
In addition to having seven Academic All-Big 12 picks, Wood became the latest member of the program to achieve Academic All-America status.
In 2016-17, Darr helped guide the Cowboys to five victories, three runner-up showings and a top-five finish at the NCAA Championship. Individually, OSU produced four All-America selections and a pair of All-America Scholars.
Darr, who had served as Ohio State’s head coach since 2009, resumed the position he held in Stillwater from 2006-09 for the 2015-16 campaign.
During Darr’s first season back in Stillwater, the Cowboys produced four team titles, five individual medalists and capped the season with a No. 4 ranking. Additionally, Kristoffer Ventura earned third-team All-America status, while Jordan Niebrugge and Zachary Olsen captured Academic All-America status.
During his time in Columbus, Darr led the Buckeyes to four regional appearances. In 2011, he helped his squad reach the match play portion of the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek.
Under his guidance, the Buckeyes won six tournament titles, produced eight all-region selections as well as five All-Big Ten performers.
Prior to his first stint in Stillwater, Darr served as head coach at the University of Akron for the 2005-06 season. During that season, he helped end the Zips’ nine-year tournament victory drought.
A 1996 graduate of Kent State, Darr began his coaching career at his alma mater, serving as the assistant coach for the men’s and women’s golf teams in 2001-02. He was promoted to associate head coach for both programs in 2002 and held that position before moving on to the University of Oklahoma where he served as assistant coach from 2004-05.
As a player for the Golden Flashes, Darr was named a first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection on four occasions and was tabbed as the MAC Sportsman of the Year in 1996.
Following his junior campaign, he was named a third-team All-American. Named the recipient of the Merle Wagoner Award as the school’s outstanding senior male athlete as a senior, Darr was inducted into Kent State’s Varsity “K” Hall of Fame in 2004.
After touring as a professional golfer for one season, Darr spent four years as an assistant golf professional before joining the coaching ranks.
Darr and his wife, Tina, have four children; Allie, Anna, Leo and Lucy.