Cowan takes U.S. Open momentum overseas, hoping for PGA Tour exemptions on return
Ryder Cowan pictures courtesy of the USGA.
By Ken MacLeod
If there was any doubt that Ryder Cowan has what it takes to become the latest homegrown PGA Tour star from Oklahoma and particularly Edmond, he erased all that with his standout performance in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, finishing tied for low amateur and tied for 23rd overall.
The rising senior and two-time All-American at the University of Oklahoma was the first-round leader for much of the day, reaching 3-under par. He eventually finished at 5-over after rounds of 68-72-72-73, far better than a host of major winners and PGA Tour stars.
Cowan, reached earlier this week just before teeing off with friends for a round at Westwood Park Golf Course in Norman, said it was an exhilarating week. His phone blew up with congratulations and he’s cautiously optimistic his performance might result in sponsorship invites to the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic the final two weeks in July.
“It was a good week and told me that a lot of the work I’ve put in is paying off,” Cowan said. “And what was really encouraging is I didn’t have my best stuff. I didn’t putt in the best and I didn’t have my full A game off the tee. But it was really cool being out there with the guys I’ve been watching on TV my whole life.”
Cowan is a member at Oak Tree National in Edmond where he can see how his game stacks up with fellow Edmond high school stars now on the PGA Tour like Austin Eckroat, Max McGreevy and Taylor Moore, or pros from other parts of the state like Quade Cummins (Weatherford), Logan McAllister (Oklahoma City) and Talor Gooch (Midwest City) or former Oklahoma State stars like Viktor Hovland and Zach Bauchou.
He played for Oklahoma Christian School where he was a two-time state champion. He won the Oklahoma Golf Association Junior Amateur and OGA Stroke Play Championship in 2023, only losing out on the trifecta of major OGA events when he lost to William McDonald on the 17th hole of the final match of the State Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club.
Now he’s hunting much bigger game and his former high school coach Tosh Hays has no doubt that he’ll have a full mantle of trophies eventually.
“Anybody that knows Ryder is not surprised by his success,” Hays said. “He has had PGA Tour-like hands since he was a junior in high school. Still the best hands around the green of anyone I’ve seen up close. One round at Kingfisher – and I have four witnesses to this – he chipped in four times. That’s just crazy.
“Sometimes in this day and age everyone is chasing speed and distance and It feels like the short game is deemphasized. Not with Ryder. He loves to work on his short game and told me once he spends 80 percent of his time on that. He hits it great everywhere but takes so much pride in his shot game and I think that will really benefit him in the long run. We will see him hoisting a PGA Tour trophy one day.”
Cowan leaves Saturday for England where he will try to qualify for the 2026 (British) Open Championship, then plays the Palmer Cup in Ireland followed hopefully by the Open Championship. He is hoping the sponsor exemptions come through for the two PGA Tour events, then the U.S. Amateur and back to OU for his final season and first under new coach Jonathan Moore.
“It’s going to be different,” he said. “Coach Hybl was there for 17 years. But J-Moore has been solid already bringing in a couple of new transfers. We’ll be good. We’re ready to go chase a championship this year.”
Cowan said he saw his name atop the leaderboard late in the first round after making a birdie on the 17th hole. But it didn’t faze him in any regard.
“I didn’t really think anything of it,” he said. “I was still trying to hit golf shots and take it one shot at a time.”