Nov. 18, 2010
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IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s golf team has received national letters of intent from a pair of prep standouts for the 2011-12 academic year. Joseph Winslow and Brian Bullington, both ranked among the nation’s top 150 high school golfers, will be joining Head Coach Mark Hankins and the Hawkeyes next fall.
Winslow, a native of Overland Park, KS, is currently ranked by POLO Golf Rankings as the 13th ranked player in the class of 2011 and 21st overall in the country. In his last three seasons of junior competition, Winslow has recorded nearly 60 top-20 finishes, including 35 top-five finishes and 16 individual titles. More recently, he was crowned medalist of the Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational, AJGA’s Lockton Kansas City Junior, the KCGA Falcon Ridge, KJGA’s Metro Section at Shadow Glen, FCWT’s Tanglewood Challenge and at MWJGT events at St. Joseph and Sycamore Ridge – that’s not including his high school competition at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park.
Winslow led the Saints to 5A state championships in 2007 and 2008, as well as a third place finish in 2009. He is also a two-time individual state champion from 2008 and 2009. Additionally, Winslow has been named all-state, all-metro, all-EKL, all-Sun and all-Johnson County. He is an EKL Scholar Athlete, a two-time FCWT all-American and four-time MWJGT Player of the Year (2006-2009). Winslow is the Kansas City Golf Association Player of the Year for 2010.
“I think it’s going to be a phenomenal time to be coming to the University of Iowa,” said Winslow. “After an enormous turn-around in the past few years, the Hawkeyes are a team on the rise and I’m excited to help them compete for Big Ten titles.”
Coach Hankins commented, “Joseph has an extensive list of national level success. His knowledge and passion for the game of golf will be an asset to our Hawkeye golf team as we continue to vie for championships on a Big Ten and national level.”
Bullington is a native of Frankfort, IL and a senior at Lincoln-Way East High School. His wealth of national and international junior competition over the past three years has distinguished him as the top ranked junior golfer in the state of Illinois. He has been the individual SW Suburban Blue Conference medalist for the past three years and led the Lincoln-Way East Griffins to three straight conference team championships.
In the last two seasons, Bullington has posted six top-three finishes in national or international events, including medalist honors at MJGT’s University of Illinois Invitational in Urbana, Ill. He also claimed runner-up honors at the USGA Boys Junior Amateur Qualifier in Orland Park, Ill., FCWT’s Cog Hill Classic, FCWT’s Notre Dame Open and at the Texas Junior Golf Tour Championship in Austin, TX. Bullington is currently ranked by Golfweek as the 79th ranked player for the class of 2011 and 139th overall in the country. Bullington owns an impressive scoring average of 73.2 in junior competition.
“I’m excited to get to Iowa City and take my game to a new level,” said Bullington. “The Big Ten is one of the top conferences in the country and I hope to help the Hawkeyes reach the top of the conference. Being able to compete against the best in the country will only make me better individually and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
“Brian has been successful at every level in junior golf. He is disciplined in both golf and academics and will be a great fit on our Hawkeye golf team,” said Hankins.
Winslow and Bullington will join an Iowa program that hasn’t stopped moving forward in the last three seasons. After finishing the 2010 fall season with four-straight tournament titles, the Hawkeyes are ranked ninth nationally out of 300 Division I programs in both the Golfstat Sagarin rankings and the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches’ Poll.
With the spring season ahead, the Hawkeyes have many goals still in balance, including earning a third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. Always keeping an eye on the future, Coach Hankins commented, “Brian and Joseph will come into a competitive team environment that expects the best from each individual in every aspect of collegiate athletics and academics. We are excited to have them and look forward to their contributions to our program.”