New Views on the Same Course; A Behind Scenes Look at the NCAA Golf Championship
Golfweek: Takeaways from the 2017 NCAA Golf Championship (Lance Ringler, May 31)
Entering his 10th season in charge of the NIU men’s golf team in 2018-19, Director of Golf Tom Porten has taken advantage of one America’s finest golf courses, Rich Harvest Farms, to bring in student-athletes that have vaulted the Huskies into Mid-American Conference Championship contenders.
The Huskies finished fifth at the MAC Championship for the second consecutive season in 2018, led by a seventh-place finish from Joo-Young Lee. NIU had a program-record six Academic All-MAC selections to lead the conference.
Those unfamiliar with the beauty of Rich Harvest Farms learned in May 2017 when Northern Illinois University hosted the NCAA Men's and Women's Golf Championships May 19-24 and May 26-31, respectively. The championship welcomed over 16,000 fans to Sugar Grove, Ill., and watched as Arizona State rallied to the women's championship and Oklahoma claimed the men's trophy.
The Huskies had a resurgent spring season in 2016-17, posting three top-five finishes in seven tournaments, including a runner-up honor at the Tiger Invitational at Missouri. NIU finished in fifth place at the MAC Championship for the third straight year.
During the 2015-16 season, the Huskies rewrote its own record book as it set team records for 18-hole, 36-hole and 54-hole scores and Joo-Young Lee became the program's first ever Golf Coaches Association of America All-Midwest Region selection. Lee finished as runner-up at the MAC Championship that season, earning First Team All-MAC and MAC All-Tournament Team honors.
In his previous seven seasons at the helm, the Huskies had four individual medalists with Lee becoming the latest in the spring of 2016 at the Desert Shootout, carding a school-record 65 in the opening round and a three-round record of 202. NIU went on to finish fourth at the event with a school-record score of 838 (-26). Bryce Emory claimed first place at the Jim West Intercollegiate in 2013, and Jeff Dick won the Bearcat Invitational in 2011 and the Branson Creek Invitational in 2010. As a team, the Huskies have finished runner-up three times and have twice finished third.
Off the course, Porten has helped the “Home of the Huskies", Rich Harvest Farms, annually ranked as one of Golf Digest’s Top-100 courses in America, bring the 2014 NCAA Division I Golf Regional and the 2017 NCAA Division I Championships to NIU. Rich Harvest Farms played host to the 2007 NCAA Regional and has also hosted several PGA, LPGA and amateur events.
Porten was announced as the third head men’s golf coach in program history on August 20, 2009, after head coaching stops at Akron and his alma mater Cleveland State, where he led the Vikings to an NCAA Regional appearance in 2006.
Prior to the 2012-13 season, Porten was announced as the Huskies’ Director of Golf, overseeing both the men’s and women’s teams. Since assuming the responsibilities, both the men’s and women’s programs have finished fourth at the Mid-American Conference Tournament - the women’s team's best MAC Tournament performance in program history and the men’s highest finish since 1985.
In his first event at the helm of the Huskie men's golf program, Porten's NIU team carded a second-round score of four-under par 280 at the Spartan Classic on Sept. 19, 2009 that ranks as the third-best 18-hole score in program history. The Huskies finished the event with a 54-hole score of 883 to take ninth place in the 14-team tournament, determined to build on the second round score.
Over the course of the 2009-10 season, NIU did just that. Working with Porten, players made improvements, especially in all phases of the short game. The hard work paid off in the spring, when the team posted top-10 finishes in five of seven events. A fourth-place finish at the Missouri State Invite proved to be a highlight of Porten's first season, as Jeff Dick won the individual title and Griffin Bauman finished third. In the first MAC Championships of the Porten era, Jeff Dick secured a fifth-place individual finish while the team finished sixth.
The 2010-11 season produced more results; the Huskies turned in top-10 finishes in seven of the 13 events they competed in. Aided by Dick's second career individual title, NIU claimed a runner-up finish at the Bearcat Invitational in October. The performance netted the team their best finish since their victory at the 2008 Davidson Invitational. A third-place showing at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational in April featured four Huskies in the top 20. NIU posted another sixth-place finish at the 2011 MAC Championships at TPC River's Bend.
Porten lost three seniors (Jeff Dick, Andrew Frame, Tim Kay) who had been anchors in the lineup for the past half decade after the 2010-11 season, making 2011-12 a rebuilding year. Under Porten's guidance, the underclassmen showed flashes of brilliancd throughout the season. NIU notched four top-five finishes, one more than in the prior year, at the Cardinal Intercollegiate, UCF Rio Pinar Invitational, FAU Spring Break Championship, and the COG Mizzou Intercollegiate. The season culminated with a seventh-place finish at the 2012 MAC Championships held at Rich Harvest Farms.
An Ohio native, Porten has previous experience in the Mid-American Conference. He was the head men's golf coach at Akron in 2006-07, and spent one season as the associate head coach at MAC golf powerhouse Kent State in 2007-08. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Cleveland State University as the head men's golf coach and then created and led the women's program at the school.
Porten spent much of 2008 and 2009 as Director of Instruction at GolfTEC Cleveland East in Beachwood, Ohio where he has taught more than 1,600 lessons to 200 clients, including some of the region's top collegiate and prep players. In one season as Associate Head Coach for both the men's and women's golf teams at Kent State, he assisted in all phases of coaching, recruiting, fundraising and administration for the Top 30 Division I program. While there, both teams finished with the highest ranking in school history (men - 12th; women - 13th).
Porten also achieved similar results as the head men's golf coach at Akron in 2006-07 as the Zips won a school-record four tournaments and posted their top finish at the MAC Championships with a second-place showing.
During his tenure at Cleveland State, his alma mater, Porten turned a program that did not award scholarships when he arrived in 1991 into a conference championship team in 1998. He earned Midwest Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year honors for that effort. Two years later, he added duties as Cleveland State's director of golf operations and head women's golf coach for the start-up program.
In his last season at CSU in 2005-06, the Vikings' men's team won the Horizon League Championship to earn the first automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals in school history. Porten picked up his third conference coach of the year honor.
At each of his collegiate coaching stops, in addition to his coaching responsibilities, Porten has been involved in managing tournaments, including events at Firestone Country Club in Akron, fundraising - through tournaments and corporate sponsorships - and community service efforts.
The 53-year-old Porten is just the third head coach in the history of the NIU men's golf program.
TEAM RUNNER-UP FINISHES UNDER PORTEN
Tiger Invitational, April 11, 2017
Forest Hills Intercollegiate, Feb. 23, 2013
Cardinal Intercollegiate, Sept. 27, 2011
Bearcat Invite, Oct. 12, 2011
THIRD PLACE FINISHES UNDER PORTEN
Sagamore Preview, Oct. 14, 2015
FAU Spring Break Challenge, March 25, 2012
NIU MEDALISTS UNDER PORTEN
Joo-Young Lee, Desert Shootout, 65-69-68=202 (-14) March 29, 2016
Bryce Emory, Jim West Intercollegiate, 71-72-73=216 (E) April 9, 2013
Jeff Dick, Bearcat Invitational, 68-69-72=209 (-7) Oct. 12, 2010
Jeff Dick, Branson Creek Invitational, 68-69-73=210 (-3) April 6, 2010
