Player Bio: Pat Owen - NAVY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Pat Owen

	Position: Head Coach
	Experience: 19th Year
	Alma Mater: Johns Hopkins '81

1993, '95, '97, '98, `04, '08 Patriot League Coach of the Year

In his 19th season as head coach of the Navy golf program, Pat Owen is intent on keeping the Midshipmen atop the Patriot League standings.

Owen's Midshipmen struck gold in 2007-08 by utilizing its experience to help pave the way for the program's fifth Patriot League title and its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998. Seniors Chris Renninger and Erich Schoen anchored the Mids with Schoen taking the top prize at the Patriot League Championship. The four-year standout was named the Patriot League Most Valuable Golfer after turning in a tournament-winning 7-over par 223.

While the veterans enjoyed many memorable moments throughout the season, members of the rookie class also made their mark by year's end. Ben Hayes became the first freshman under Owen's watch to win an individual title when he turned in a 3-under par 139 to win the Navy Spring Invitational. A week later, Hayes added to his list of accomplishments by being named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year after placing third at the conference championship with a 12-over par 228. Classmate Josh Ziska was sensational in Navy's annual Army-Navy dual match where he helped lead Navy to a 6.5-4.5 come-from-behind win over the Black Knights. He paired up with Schoen on the opening day to win the doubles point and a day later cruised past Matt Krembel for the singles point.

Though Renninger and Schoen have graduated, Navy will have plenty of experienced players to once again lead the way. The 2008-09 squad will be anchored by five seniors, including captain David Miller, who picked up All-Patriot League kudos in 2008, and Ryan Wielgus, who was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2006.

During his tenure at the Academy, Owen has garnered Patriot League Coach-of-the-Year honors six times (1993, '95, '97, '98, `04 and '08), including last spring when he led the Mids to their fifth Patriot League Tournament title. Additionally, he earned NCAA District II Coach-of-the-Year recognition in 1996.

In December of 2004, Owen was one-of-seven finalists named for the inaugural Labron Harris Sr. Award. The Harris Award is presented to the college or high school coach and PGA professional whose support of the game through teaching, coaching and involvement in the community has helped ensure the continued growth of the game and represent the finest qualities the game has to offer.

Owen has led the Midshipmen to five NCAA Regional appearances, including four in the last eight years. In the spring of 1998, he guided the Mids to a fifth-place finish at the Eastern Championship and their first NCAA Regional appearance. Anchored by one of the most successful golfers in the history of the program in All-American Aaron Wright, Navy finished 19th at the East Regional held at Melrose Golf Course in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Just three years after Wright's graduation from the Academy, Owen landed a recruit who would go on to be one of the top young amateur players in the country and lead the Mids to a pair of NCAA Regional appearances. Billy Hurley, a member of the 2005 Walker Cup team, came to the Academy during the 2000-01 academic year and quickly made a name for himself. But it wasn't until the summer of 2003 that he gained national attention, where he battled to the No. 2 seed in the U.S. Amateur. A four-time All-Patriot League selection and 2004 Patriot League MVP, Hurley became the first golfer to receive the Academy's Thompson Trophy Cup, presented to that midshipman, male or female, who has done the most during the year to promote athletics at the Naval Academy. The recipient of the 2004 Byron Nelson Award, he was one of the first-two players to be named to the 2004 Palmer Cup and is the first player to represent a service academy in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition. In addition, he was voted to serve as captain by his peers. An excellent student, as well, Hurley was named an Academic All-American, in addition to being named the Patriot League Male Scholar-Athlete of the year his senior campaign.

Prior to being named head coach at Navy in 1991, Owen served as an assistant coach for the Midshipmen for four years.

Owen is a 1981 graduate of Johns Hopkins, where he served as captain of the golf team his senior year. After turning professional, Owen earned national recognition with the highest score on the PGA of America's Business School exam. In addition to his coaching duties, Owen is the golf pro at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course. Owen and his wife, Karen, are the parents of a son, Patrick, and daughter, Noelle, and reside in Annapolis.