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2020-21 DBow

Daniel Bowden

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
  • 2018, 2019 and 2023 CAA Champions and CAA Coach of the Year
  • Named UNCW Head Men’s Golf Coach in Summer of 2017
  • Bowden’s teams have recorded 1113team titles and 7 individual titles over the past six seasons 
  • Led his Seahawk teams to 3 consecutive NCAA Regional berths from 2018-2021 (2018 Bryan Regional, 2019 Athens Regional, 2021 Noblesville Regional) and again in 2023 (Norman Regional)
  • Coached three PING Division I All-Region Honorees and 15 Division I GCAA All-America Scholars in six seasons 
  • Coached four players to Top 50 Golfstat National Ratings (Segundo Oliva Pinto – 12th, Blake McShea – 29th, Christofer Rahm – 44th, Patrick Cover – 48th) 
  • Bowden’s team set the program record with the eighth best National Scoring Rating in Division I Golf during the 2020-21 season 
  • Earned eighth-place finishes on both the Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour PGA Tour Canada
  • Won 12 professional golf events across the United States during his 5-year professional playing career (2011-2015)
  • Coached the first UNCW Men's golfer to make the cut in a PGA Tour event in Blake McShea and also Patrick Cover who has made multiple starts on the PGA Tour at the Wells Fargo Championship & Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN.
Bowden, who enters his seventh season leading the program in 2023-24, led the Seahawks to their fourth NCAA Regional appearance in the last six seasons when they won the CAA tournament for fourth time over that span.

In 2022-23, UNCW fashioned five top-five finishes, capped by a nine-stroke win at the CAA Tournament. Patrick Sparks also earned medalist honors after setting the conference record with a three-round score of 205. Sparks became UNCW's sixth individual CAA Champion.

Sparks and Walker Isley were named All-CAA and that was just the first of many awards UNCW would earn in the postseason. Isley was honored as a Ping All-Region selection while Sparks earned CSC Academic All-Regoin honors. Sparks and Sander Akeren were honored as All-America Scholars by the GCAA.

The Seahawks continued their success in 2021-22 with three tournament wins, a second-place showing at the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and another stellar performance in the classroom with a 3.5 Team GPA.

UNCW captured the Seahawk Intercollegiate for the third consecutive time in addition to wins at the Forest Creek Collegiate and the Wofford Invitational in the spring of 2022. The strong play helped the Seahawks climb over 50 spots in the national rankings leading up to the CAA Championship. The emergence of Walker Isley fueled the run as he rattled off three top-five finishes during that stretch and won the Forest Creek Collegiate, his first win at the collegiate level.

Isley, who finished third in his CAA Championship debut, earned first-team All-CAA honors and paced the Seahawks with his 72.13 stroke average, which ranked as the seventh-lowest single-season mark in the program’s history. His four top-five finishes in the spring were also a team-best. Redshirt senior Lansdon Robbins recorded five Top 20 finishes in the spring to earn second-team All-CAA honors.

In 2021, Bowden added a pair of tournament wins and an NCAA at-large berth to his long list of accomplishments. The Seahawks, who played just a spring schedule due to Covid, posted tournament wins at both the Seahawk Intercollegiate and Irish Creek Intercollegiate while also placing second at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate. UNCW was unable to defend its CAA Championship in the spring due to Covid protocols but did earn a spot in the Noblesville NCAA Regional where they finished eighth.

Leading the way in the spring of 2021 was fifth-year senior Blake McShea, who recorded UNCW’s third top-10 finish at an NCAA Regional. McShea’s three-round total of 213 was good for third all-time at UNCW and his two-round total of 136 through two rounds was a program-best. McShea also recorded a 2nd place finish at the Irish Creek Collegiate, a third-place at the Seahawk Intercollegiate and finished outside the top 13 only once on the season. McShea was honored as the CAA’s Golfer of the Year, an All-CAA first-team selection, and was one of only 26 players named to the PING Division I East Region Team. Freshman Sander Akeren capped a fantastic spring regular season with a 14-under par total that was good enough for a 10-stroke victory at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate. Redshirt junior Lansdon Robbins tied for 18th at the Noblesville Regional after earning three top-25 finishes during the regular season. UNCW placed four players in the top 10 at the Seahawk Intercollegiate and tied a program-best 54-hole mark of 17-under par in route to winning their second straight playing of the event.

Coach Daniel Bowden continued his winning ways in 2019-20 as they captured the 2020 Bash at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C., their final event before the season was canceled by the NCAA. In his third season as head coach, Coach Bowden led the Seahawks to their fifth tournament title which includes two Colonial Athletic Association championships. In three seasons, Bowden’s players have recorded four individual titles, three runner-up finishes, and four third-place finishes. Patrick Cover, Thomas Eldridge, and Segundo Oliva Pinto have all earned PING Division I All-East Region Honors during his tenure.

In 2019-20, UNCW’s Segundo Oliva Pinto continued his winning ways under Bowden. Oliva Pinto opened the season with a tournament win at the Golfweek Program Challenge and concluded it with a one-stroke victory at the Bash at the Beach tournament. Segundo’s 69.71 season scoring average ranked 10th in Division I in Scoring and propelled him to 115th in the Division I National Ranking. At the Golfweek Challenge, the sophomore set program records for lowest single-round score (61) and lowest 54-hole score (192). At the 2020 Bash at the Beach, UNCW made up six shots over the final nine holes to force and win a sudden-death playoff against Jacksonville State.

The Seahawks made it 2-for-2 in 2019 when they again rallied on the final day to win the Colonial Athletic Association title for a second straight year. For his efforts, Bowden was honored as the league's Coach of the Year for a second straight year. UNCW fashioned three top-six finishes on the season including the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate (second) and Tiger Invitational (sixth) along with the CAA Championship victory.

Freshman Segundo Oliva Pinto earned medalist honors at the 2019 CAA Championship with a birdie on the first hole of a four-man playoff at Pinehurst No. 8. Segundo was honored as the CAA's 2019 Rookie of the Year and was a first-team All-CAA honoree.

In his first season at the helm of the program, Bowden led UNCW to three tournament victories, including a victory at the CAA Championships for the first time since 2013. The Seahawks faced a 10-shot deficit entering the final round at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, but rallied down the stretch to capture the championship by two strokes. Seahawks Patrick Cover and Blake McShea both earned First Team All-CAA honors.

During his term as the assistant men’s and women’s coach, Bowden coached 2017 NCAA Regional participants Patrick Cover and Thomas Eldridge as well as the 2017 CAA Women's champion, Lyberty Anderson. Cover won the Clemson Invitational individual title with a final round 65 and Eldridge captured the Auburn Tiger Invitational by 3 strokes after birdies on 4 of his final 5 holes.
 
Bowden served as an assistant for the men's and women's programs at UNCW before being elevated to head coach of the men's program before the 2017-18 season. He came to the program after serving as Head of Player Development at Bowden Bros. Golf and Director of Instruction and Junior Golf at Pickens C.C.
 
Bowden embarked on a five-year professional playing career in 2010 after qualifying for match play at the 2010 United States Amateur Championship at storied Chambers Bay. Bowden qualified for the event by shooting 67-64 to top future tour winner Harris English by three strokes. For the next five years, Bowden competed on the Web.com/Nationwide Tour and the Mackenzie Tour PGA Tour Canada in addition to the eGolf, Hooters, Hopkins Golf, and Carolina Mountain Tours. He competed in the PGA Tour/Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament from 2012 to 2015, advancing to the Second Stage in his first 3 attempts. He tallied 12 victories as a professional and made seven starts on both the Web.com/Nationwide Tour and Mackenzie Tour PGA Tour Canada. Bowden’s highlights included Top-10 finishes at the 2013 Web.com South Georgia Classic in Valdosta, Ga. and the 2015 Mackenzie Tour Syncrude Boreal Open in Fort McMurray, finishing t8 in both events. He also won the Hopkins Tour’s Kickoff Classic in Valdosta shooting 70-68-66 in 2014.
 
Bowden, the son of a Class A PGA Lifetime Professional, has honed his coaching and teaching skills working as an instructor at many golf camps across the country. He has been an instructor at the Nike Jr. Golf Camp at Furman, JT Golf Camps at Furman, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, the Georgia Tech Golf Camp, FCA Jr. Golf Camps, College Golf CampsTM, and most recently the Duke Golf School for Boys. In April of 2020, Bowden earned his Trackman Level II Certification from Trackman University.

Bowden earned a scholarship to top-ranked Georgia Tech in 2010, where he was a member of the 2007 ACC Championship team. Bowden earned the 2008 Charlie Yates Cup for outstanding academic achievement among the Yellow Jacket golfers. In 2008, Bowden transferred to Furman University where he helped lead the Paladins to the 2010 Southern Conference Championship and its first NCAA tournament appearance in six years. His 73.03 stroke average currently ranks him second in school history behind Ryder Cup team member Brad Faxon. While at Furman, Daniel was named a GCAA All-America Scholar and to the All-SoCon teams in 2009 and 2010. Bowden recorded six top-10 finishes, fifteen top-25 finishes, and two runner-up finishes during his two years at Furman. An excellent student, Bowden graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Business Administration.
 
Bowden had a very successful high school career at South Carolina 4A golf powerhouse Easley High School playing under Coach Dave Giffin. Bowden started every event from his freshman year en route to winning the 2005 SC AAAA Individual and Team titles. He was the 2005 SCHSAA Golfer of the Year and a Wendy’s High School Heisman nominee. During his junior career, Bowden was the AAJGA player of the year and played in three SC-GA Junior Team Matches representing the South Carolina Junior Golf Association. Bowden also won numerous events run by the Greater Pensacola Junior Golf Association, which produced two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson.