OU coach Moore, star player Cowan in field for prestigious Trans-Miss at Southern Hills CC
By Ken MacLeod
Who will join the likes of recent winners Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Champ and Andew Goodman of Norman and the University of Oklahoma when the 122nd Trans-Mississippi Amateur Championship is held July 6-10 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa.
It could certainly be another Sooner. Ryder Cowan, who two weeks ago tied for low amateur and was a late first-round leader in the U.S. Open, confirmed by text today that he intends to be in the field, despite competing Friday through Sunday in the Palmer Cup, an international men’s and women’s collegiate event at the Tralee Club in County Kerry, Ireland.
His new collegiate coach Jonathan Moore walked with him on the Wednesday practice round at Shinnecock Hills and thought he was ready for great things. He’ll be walking the course at Southern Hills next week but not to watch Cowan. Moore has entered himself and the 2006 NCAA champion at Oklahoma State expects to hold his own.
“I’m really excited to be playing in it,” said Moore, who regained his amateur status in the summer of 2025 and played in the OGA State Amateur. He said he promised himself he would play in at least significant event each year and the amount of time he spent working on his short game with the OU team and playing some rounds with them as well has allowed him to keep his game in tune.
Moore played in the Big 12 Championship at Southern Hills in 2006, a wild weather tournament that battled through numerous delays to get in 54 holes. He finished tied for 14th, but immediately after won The Maxwell at Dornick Hills in Ardmore, then won his NCAA Regional and the NCAA Championship in succession. This will be his first time playing in the Trans-Miss.
The event is the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association if only the 122nd playing of the championship. A special past champions dinner will be held next Thursday featuring Zalatoris, who won in 2014 the last time it was held at Southern Hills as well as 2016 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The other guest of honor is Mark Brooks, the 1979 winner at Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith, Ark.. Brooks has a special history at Southern Hills, having lost an 18-hole playoff to Retief Goosen in the 2001 U.S. Open.
Cowan also has had a close shave at Southern Hills, losing the 2023 OGA State Amateur championship match to William McDonald of Oklahoma City on the 17th hole.
Following a practice round Monday, the field will compete over 72 holes of stroke play Tuesday through Friday, with a cut to the low 54 and ties following the second round Wednesday.
Also adding to the strong Sooner presence will be the participation of frequent OU starter Clark Van Gaalen as well as 2027 commits Banks Cozby and Stuart Boulware of Kansas City. Southern Hills’s golf operations are run by former Sooner great and PGA professional Cary Cozby, father of Banks.
“With Cary, it’s a special connection for us at Southern Hills and we try to get the team over there at least once or twice a year,” Moore said.
Moore, 41, said distance off the tee is not a big disadvantage against the college kids, although Van Gaalen is an exception as he’s one of the longest hitters in collegiate golf. A bigger disadvantage is the time devoted to coaching and raising three children versus the time required to keep the golf game dialed in.
Southern Hills member Coleman Sides, who has committed to play his collegiate golf for the recently restored University of Tulsa men’s team, is in the field. Older brother Will Sides, currently on the Korn Ferry Tour, finished second in this event in 2024, losing in a one-hole playoff to Goodman of Norman at Flint Hills in Andover, Kan. Goodman, a former Sooner All-American, has also turned professional and is playing on the PGA Americas Tour.
Rob Addington, whose company Anera Sports runs the Trans-Miss championships, said the lure of Southern Hills attracted a flood of entrants, including more than 300 who could not get in the field. Entrants are mostly determined by their standings on the World Amateur Golf Rankings among other factors.
This will be the fourth time the event has been played at Southern Hills and Cary Cozby said the course is in near perfect condition to welcome the field.
“It’s just part of our commitment to top level amateur and professional golf,” Cozby said. “The golf course is in unbelievable condition. Bryant (superintendent Bryant Evans) and his crew are doing a great job. We could host any tournament tomorrow.”
Past champions with Oklahoman ties include Tom Jones of Tulsa and OSU, who won in 1974 at Cedar Ridge CC in Broken Arrow; Bob Tway of Edmond and OSU in 1978 at Brook Hollow GC in Dallas and four-time champion and former Sooner Charlie Coe at his home course Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club in 1956, in 1952 at Lakewood CC in Denver, in 1949 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and 1947 at Wichita Country Club. Another former Sooner winner was Jake Holbrook in 2023 at Brook Hollow, meaning OU golfers could win for the third time in four years if one of the current Sooners pulls it off.
Other prominent winners in Trans-Miss history include Jack Nicklaus (1958 and 1959), Deane Beman (1960), George Archer (1963), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Gary Koch (1973), Bob Estes (1985), OSU’s Brian Watts (1986), DeChambeau (2013), Morikawa (2015) and Champ (2017).
The event is open to the public at no charge. A complete field list is available now and starting times and pairings will be at www.trans-miss.org.