CARVER MEMORIES – Men's golf (1993 to 2013)
Steve Card takes successful program to new heights

BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- In August of 1990, Western Washington University Director of Athletics Lynda Goodrich hired then 24-year-old Steve Card for the position of Associate Athletic Director for Business and Financial Affairs.
 
Three years later in July of 1993, Goodrich asked Card, who had been a standout golfer and two-year team captain at Washington State University, to add the duties of head men's golf coach.

With his only coaching experience being the previous two seasons as a volunteer assistant for the Vikings, Card took over a program that had accumulated more trophies and plaques than any other in school history.
 
But following his first campaign, a frustrated and disappointed Card brought a two-page, hand-written letter of resignation to Goodrich. He felt as though he should stick solely with his administrative responsibilities.
 
"They weren't buying into the team concept, and we weren't doing well even though I was putting a lot of emotional effort into coaching the team," explained Card. "All I had to go on was my own experience as an athlete and how I wanted to run my program. I had tried to garner knowledge from some of our other coaches on how to do this, but when you're doing it, it can be pretty overwhelming. I was beginning to question if this was the right thing for me to do."
 
Goodrich never did see the resignation letter. Instead, she asked Card what changes he felt were needed. Two immediately implemented were cutting the squad size from 15 players to eight and adding a trip to California to bolster recruiting. The rest, as they say, is history.
 
Card continued as the Vikings' links coach for another 19 years, only stepping down to assume the responsibilities of athletics director when Goodrich retired in May of 2013. Illustrating how much Card was respected by his peers, he was named to the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in 2023.  
 
During his coaching tenure, Card took a successful program to its greatest heights.
 
The results came almost immediately. In Card's second season, the 1995 Vikings not only won the Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) West Region championships, but also placed 15th at the NAIA National Tournament. They tied for 11th at nationals in 1996 after holding the first-round lead, tied for fourth in 1997 and placed eighth in 1998.
 
"In my second season when we made it to nationals for the first time in nine years, that was huge because suddenly the belief was there," said Card. "And not only did we make it, but we made the cut and got to play all four rounds. That was a big thing."
 
"The quick trajectory where we went from 1994 and not doing much of anything, and three years later we're finishing fourth in the country. The momentum was there. We were an attractive school to play golf at. A lot of things were lining up for us."
 
In 1999, with Western now a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II, Card's golfers began one of the most noteworthy athletic achievements in school history.
 
The Vikings got to regionals in their inaugural NCAA year, placing 11th nationally, and again in 2000, tying for sixth at nationals.
 
For all 15 seasons Card's teams competed in the NCAA, Western advanced to regionals each time. And that string was still going for the Vikings following the 2022-23 campaign.
 
With Luke Bennett, one of Card's former players, having completed his 10th year as the Vikings' coach, Western has competed in every regional (24, no regional tourney in 2020 because of COVID-19) since the school joined the NCAA for the 1998-99 school year. That is something no other sport at WWU has accomplished as well as very few programs at any university in the country.
 
In all, Card directed Western to 12 national tournament appearances (8 NCAA, 4 NAIA), including a program-record six straight from 1995 to 2000. And of the eight top 10 finishes the Vikings have had, the best was a tie for third in 2013. His teams won 10 league, eight district and four region championships (3 NAIA, 1 NCAA) as well as 45 (34) regular-season tournaments.
 
Card, who coached 29 All-Americans and took 60 players to nationals, was named league Coach of the Year 11 times, NAIA regional Coach of the Year on three occasions and NCAA II West Region Coach of the Year once.
 
"When I played it was pretty much an individual approach (used by many coaches at that time), but when I coached I used a team approach," said Card. "Let's put the best players out there and everyone competes hard to be in the top five and then go as a team and compete as a team."
 
Card also contributed to the sport off the course. He served a four-year term (2008-12) on the NCAA II Men's Golf Committee, being chair the final year, and put in eight years as the DII At-Large Representative on the Golf Coaches of America Association National Advisory Board.
 
A member of the NCAA DII men's golf regional advisory committee from 2002-04, Card was on the Golf Coaches All-America Committee for three years (2002-05), being chair in 2004-05.
 
And to top it off, Card played an instrumental role in bringing the 2009 NCAA II Men's Golf Championships to Whatcom County. It is the only time Western has played host to a national tournament in any sport.
 
To what does Card attribute the success he had in directing the golf program?
 
"I think the main thing was making my players believe in themselves and feel as though they belonged to a first-class program," he said. "No longer did we supplement our play by facing two-year schools. We began to compete exclusively against four-year institutions."
 
Early on Goodrich asked Card if he needed more scholarship money. She may have been surprised when he responded, "No. What I need is a schedule."
 
"The kids, who are all from the state of Washington, will come and play if we can show them that we are flying to different tournaments (in California and Arizona) where the sun is shining," Card explained. "That is what they want. If I can put together a schedule, I'll pretty much get every kid that I want (at this level)."
 
And one more thing Card credits for his success: Tiger Woods.
 
Woods, who turned professional in 1996, is regarded as perhaps the greatest golfer of all-time and is one of the most famous athletes in history. He is tied for first in Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour wins and ranks second in major championships.
 
"As a golf coach, I was excited because Tiger Woods made golf cool and kids began to play golf over other sports because of that," Card said.
 
"So, I'm not shocked to see the kind of golf now being played on a global level. It's incredible. You look at the good players in the 70s, 80s and 90s, all tremendous players, but there are so many of them now. "And that's related to Tiger Woods, the explosion of the game and the athletic ability of the players. He is quite simply in my mind the best who has ever played the game. He influenced the game like no player since Arnold Palmer."
 
Western golf began over 90 years ago
 
Men's golf became a varsity sport at Western, then Bellingham Normal School, in 1931, just over 90 years ago.
 
Sam Carver, known as the "Father of Western Athletics," was the sport's first coach. He directed the Vikings to a league title in their first season of competition and 11 of their first 14 years. That included one stretch of 10 straight, still a school record for all sports.
 
Carver's top two golfers were a pair twin brothers from Canada, Ben and Bob Doyle. They hailed from Coquitlam, British Columbia, located just 45 miles from Bellingham. They were the first Western players to compete nationally after the sport was added by the NAIA. Ben placed 12th at nationals in 1954, and Bob was 22nd that year and 10th in 1956 when he placed sixth in the driving contest at nationals.
 
Ben Doyle became a golf professional and later a well-known teacher of the sport while living near Monterey, California. He was repeatedly named among the top golf instructors in the country, earning spots on Golf Digest's list of America's Top 50 instructors and Golf Magazine's list of Top 100 teachers.
 
Carver continued coaching golf at Western until 1955 (22 seasons, with three years lost because of World War II) before John Kulbitski (5 years, 1956-60), who also coached football, took over.
 
Kulbitski had the good fortune of coaching Bill Wright, who originally came to Western to play basketball because the University of Washington coach did not want a black athlete on his team.
 
Regarded as the best golfer in school history and in the conversation for Western's finest all-time athlete, Wright won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 1959, beating out 2,434 competitors to become the first African American to win a tournament conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA). He also took medalist honors at the NAIA national championship in 1960 and in 1968 was among the first seven inductees into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
When Western played host to the DII national championships in 2009, a moving tribute was made to Wright, who attended with his wife Ceta, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his Public Links triumph. Making the scroll presentation at a banquet to open the event was USGA President Jim Vernon.
 
One of Wright's teammates was Paul Rudis, who placed seventh at the NAIA nationals in 1959 and returned in 1962 to finish eighth.
 
Jim Lounsberry took over the coaching reins in 1961 for the first of three stints (2 years, 1961-62; 3 years, 1965-67; 13 years, 1970-82) during which the Vikings won 12 league and district crowns.
 
Interspersed between them were legendary coach and administrator Charles Lappenbusch (2 years, 1963-64; Straight-Line philosophy) and football coach Fred Emerson (2 years, 1968-69).
 
Following Lounsberry's retirement; basketball coach Bill Westphal (3 years, 1983-85); Sudden Valley Golf Course head golf professional Ron Haas (4 years, 1986-89) and Bellingham Golf & Country Club head golf pro Dean Russell (4 years, 1990-93) took turns guiding the Vikings.
 
Altogether, under its first eight coaches, Western won 27 conference and/or district championships and made 10 national tournament appearances (14th-1986, 16th-1964, 17th-1980, 30th-1963, did not make 36-hole cut six times – 1961, 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1986). The Vikings had 32 conference/district medalists, one national titlist, and sent 51 players to nationals.
 
Luke Bennett, who begins his 10th campaign this fall, followed Steve Card as Western's coach. During Bennett's tenure, the Vikings have gone to regionals every year possible, won three GNAC titles and sent five players to nationals in 2017 when WWU finished 16th. In 2022, Bennett was named West Region Coach of the Year.
 
In all 87 years of competition (lost three seasons to World War II and one to COVID-19), Western's male golfers have reached nationals 23 times. They've won 35 league/conference crowns, captured 21 district titles, taken three NAIA region crowns and one NCAA regional championship, for a total of 60 trophies and plaques. Add to that numerous regular-season tournament wins and there is no room, even in the recently renovated Carver Gymnasium, for all the hardware.
 
Western's finest teams are all Card's best
 
Which is Western's top men's golf team?
 
A common thread is that all the teams currently in the running for that honor had the same coach – Steve Card.
 
If the criteria used is best national finish, it would have to be the 2013 squad, which reached the NCAA II national semifinals. The Vikings tied for third place in match play after tying for seventh in medal play among 20 teams. They reached the semis with a quarterfinal win over No.1 ranked Florida Southern.

First-team All-American Jake Webb tied for second in medalist play at nationals after forcing a three-way playoff. That effort was only bettered historically by Bill Wright's winning NAIA performance in 1960. Webb shot a 6-under 65 in the third and final round of medalist play, the best 18 holes of the tournament.

Western placed second at regionals that season with Kyle Schrader taking medalist honors. And Evan Needham was named an All-America Scholar.
 
If the standard for best all-time team was just raw talent, Card points to his 2005 squad as the one that stands by itself.
 
"That was the dream team for me," he said.
 
Western won the NCAA II Super Regional, for the only time in school history, as Tim Feenstra took medalist honors. A first-team All-American, Feenstra tied for 10th at nationals. Luke Bennett and Josh Immordino were named All-America third teamers, completing the school's only All-America trifecta in program history.
 
However, the Vikings, an automatic qualifier, placed a disappointing ninth at nationals, though Immordino became just the second person in program history to play in four national tournaments.
 
Card's 1997 team got Western on the golfing map. It tied for fourth at the NAIA nationals after winning the combined conference/regional championships. Transfer J.D. Rushton, who won three regular-season tournaments that year, was a first-team All-American. Redshirt freshman Craig Welty, who was the league/region medalist, received honorable mention.
 
"That was a game changer for us when Rushton joined the team," Card said. "He was the best junior college player in the state. He and Welty were quite the duo."
 
The 2000 Vikings made a sixth consecutive trip to nationals, unprecedented in program history, tying for sixth. First-team All-American Welty became the first WWU golfer to compete in four national championships, tying for ninth. Welty was the medalist leader after the first round and second at the halfway point. Brian Flugstad, a second-team All-American, placed fifth at nationals, making it the only time Western had two golfers finish in the top 10.
 
Card's All-Americans and more
   
As Western's ninth links coach, Steve Card had a number of standout players during his 20-year tenure, led by five first-team All-Americans. They include three Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-Americans: Craig Welty (2000), Tim Feenstra (2005), and Jake Koppenberg (2009); and two NAIA All-Americans: J.D. Rushton (1997) and Joel Skarbo (1998).
 
Feenstra also was a second team GCAA pick in 2006 and third team in 2003 when he was the National Freshman of the Year; and Koppenberg was a second-team choice in 2008 when he was named to the All-Nicklaus Team. Another second-team selection was Brian Flugstad (2000).
 
Josh Immordino was a second (2005) and third team (2002) pick, with third-team honors also going to Skarbo (1999), Welty (1999), Chris Anderson (2004), Luke Bennett (2005), Sean Packer (2008), Dylan Goodwin (2011, 2012), and Jake Webb (2013).
 
Welty was an honorable mention NAIA All-American in 1997, along with Kevin Cannon (1996) and Ryan Yurina (1996). GCAA honorable mention All-America accolades went to Lindsay Bernakevitch (2002), Immordino (2003), Bennett (2006), Packer (2006), Xavier Dailly (2010), Nick Varelia (2012) and Kyle Schrader (2013).
 
Named GCAA All-America Scholars were Packer (2207, 2008), Dailly (2010, 2011), Barhanovich (2011) and Evan Needham (2013).
 
Feenstra, Packer and Welty are WWU Athletics Hall of Fame inductees coached by Card, joining Paul Rudis and Bill Wright among men's golfers named.
 
A number of Card's All-Americans have gone on to significant golf achievements following Western. Among them are:
 
Bennett – Currently the head men's and women's golf coach at Western. Tied for 29th at the 2012 PGA Professional National Championship held at the Bayonet Black Horse Golf Club. Placed third that year at the Pacific Northwest Section qualifier and tied for sixth at the Oregon Open.
 
Feenstra - One of the top playing club professionals in the Pacific Northwest, he competed in the 2022 PGA Championship on May 19-22 at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2006, he reached the U.S. Amateur Public Links semifinals, only a playoff loss keeping him from the championship round. In 2007 and 2011, he won the Washington Open Invitational. Took Washington State Assistants Championship in 2012 and Washington State Match Play Championship in 2008 and 2009. Has prevailed in five Western Washington Chapter PGA tournaments and three (2011, 2013, 2015) Pacific Northwest PGA Section events. 2003 NCAA II GCCA National Freshman of the Year.
 
Immordino - A two-time Pacific Northwest PGA Section major champion, he won the Washington Open in 2006 and Oregon Open in 2007. In 2005, he represented Washington State in USGA Team Matches and won the Seattle Amateur, and in 2008, he qualified as an alternate for the U.S. Open held at Torrey Pines.
 
Koppenberg - Has played in eight USGA Championships: 4 U.S. Amateurs, 3 U.S. Mid-Amateurs, and 1 U.S. Four-Ball, reaching the quarterfinals at the 2019 USGA Mid-Amateur. In 2021, he was the Washington State Golf Association Mid-Amateur Champion.
 
Packer - Has won three Tacoma City Amateur titles (2004, 2010, 2014) and took the 2012 Washington Champion of Champions. He has represented the state of Washington in six Hudson Cup matches and six Pacific Northwest Golf Association Cup matches.

Welty - Named by Golf Digest as one of the best teachers in the state. Was the Western Washington Chapter PGA Teacher of the year in 2013 and 2018. He has coached five-time PGA Tour winner Ben Crane and eight-time PGA Tour and major champion Stewart Cink. Welty also has competed in both the U.S. Amateur Public Links and British Amateur Public Links championships.
  
Quotable:
  
"As time has passed and my priorities and perspective have changed now that I too have a family. When I think back to my time at Western, the golf and team accomplishments that seemed so important at the time seem to mean a bit less as time goes on and the relationships and time spent with Coach (Card) and the rest of the team is what really made the experience so amazing. Steve was more than just a coach, he was like a friend and father figure and gave me a great idea of how I wanted to be as a father and adult in the future. I am very grateful for the time I spent there and I know that there are many other past athletes who feel the same about their coaches during their time at Western." --- Josh Immordino
 
Next Chapter for Card
 
Just the sixth Director of Athletics at WWU since the program began in 1903, Steve Card recently retired after 10 years in that position and 33 overall as a Viking athletics administrator.
 
And as he did as men's golf coach and associate AD, Card excelled in his duties as AD.
 
Western placed among the top two in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophy standings in each of Card's years leading the program, taking top honors six times (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2021-22, 2022-23). In all, the Vikings won 44 GNAC sport championships over that span.
 
During Card's tenure as AD, Western finished in the top 50 among 300-plus schools in the Learfield Director's Cup standings for all but one season with a high of 11th in 2016-17. The Director's Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
 
Under Card, Western teams won national titles in women's soccer in 2016 and 2022 and rowing in 2017 (bringing the school's total to 12). The Vikings were second in the nation in 2018 in both rowing and volleyball, and runner-up in women's soccer in 2019, and women's basketball and rowing in 2022.
 
In May of 2017, Card was appointed to the prestigious NCAA Division II Championships Committee and was named committee chair for 2020-21. Previously, he served on the NCAA II West Region Men's Basketball Regional Advisory Committee (2015-17) and was a member of the Playing Rules and Oversight Panel (2019-20) for all divisions.
 
In addition, Card served 10 years on the GNAC Management Council (2013-2023).
 
A key element that sets Western athletics apart from nearly all other schools enjoying great success in competition is how its student-athletes have performed in the classroom. That began in the Goodrich era, but has gotten even better under Card.
 
In 2022, Western earned the NCAA President's Award for Academic Excellence for the fifth time in six years. Viking student-athletes recorded a school-record Academic Success Rate of 92 percent, while being among just 43 NCAA II schools to earn the honor, and one of only four public institutions. They have been 90 percent or better in five of the last six years, falling just one percent short in 2019.
 
"This is an elite list to be on and an amazing award for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and University to celebrate," said Card. "As proud as we are of all the success the Vikings have had in competition, these are the awards we are most proud of as it shows the dedication and hard work our student-athletes put into every facet of their experience at Western."
 
What is behind Western's success under Card's leadership?
 
"A coach is only as good as their players. An AD is only as good as their coaches," said Card. "We have such dedicated coaches. We've been so blessed with the coaches we're had in leading these men and women."
 
"Not only in their ability to coach, but in their ability to lead and doing it in the right way. The utmost of integrity, which as a golfer is something I hold very highly … It's a self-governing sport. You just don't cheat, you don't try and cut corners, you just go and play. You don't have officials out there throwing flags or calling fouls. So, it's just who I am and how I grew up."
 
"When you're leading an athletics program, you rely a lot on the integrity of your coaches and our coaches are top-shelf when it comes to that, their work ethic, their caring for their student-athletes and oh, by the way, they know how to coach and win."
 
When he took over as director of athletics at Western, Card had the unenviable task of replacing the iconic Lynda Goodrich, who had taken the athletics program to heights never before thought possible. A testament to that is her being named to six Hall of Fames as a coach and administrator, including the DII national ADs Hall of Fame in 2021.

During Goodrich's 26 years as athletic director, the Vikings won nine team national titles, the first in school history, and she guided the program as it made the transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.
 
Goodrich left with Western athletics recognized as among the best Division II programs in the country and with the coaches, staff and student-athletes committed to excellence.
 
"When you don't have to convince the people that are working for you what we're striving for because they're already there, that makes it a lot easier," said Card. "And that came from Lynda Goodrich. She set the bar. She set the expectations for this department."
 
"I had the privilege of working with her for 23 years. When I talk about integrity being ingrained in me as a golfer. Well, competitiveness and excellence are ingrained in me from 23 years working with Lynda. And that's also the case with everyone else on this staff who had the privilege of working under her.
 
"That made it a fairly simple transition for me. I didn't really have to come in and change the potion. This is who we are and I happen to have been a part of it for a long time. I don't have to educate anyone on who we are or what we are or change who we are because we were pretty darn successful before I got started as AD.
 
"So, I've just been trying to keep steering us in the right direction and continue in that progression of being good. There's a lot that goes into that. Relationship building on campus, a lot of being strategic about what's important and what's going to make a difference for us. We can't have everything, so what do we need right now."
 
In reality, Card's journey as Western's AD has been far from easy.
 
During his third and fourth years, Carver Gym underwent a major renovation that cost over $80 million. That meant the coaches and staff were housed in temporary buildings that were erected in the 1970s. The basketball and volleyball teams practiced in the Wade King Recreation Center and their games were held off campus at Whatcom Community College.
 
Two years later, Card was faced with the unprecedented challenge presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. He navigated the Vikings through many ups and downs, including one stretch of no athletics for a year with all the school's sports being shut down by the NCAA in the early spring of 2019 and not reinstated until the spring of 2020.
 
"Through adversity and challenges, our student-athletes continue to perform at the highest levels in both the classroom and in competition," said Card. "I am so proud of the effort that has gone into this achievement."
 
How Card arrived at Western

Steve Card was born and raised in Canada. In the city of Edmonton and the province of Alberta to be exact.
 
He got totally hooked on golf the day his father first took him to play on a regulation course at six years of age. On a downhill par 3 that measured 120 yards, Card hit a cutoff driver to within 12 feet of the pin.
 
"I found that golf was my thing and I discovered that you could play college golf in the United States," he said. "That became my aspiration."
 
Since there wasn't much recruiting done by American universities north of the border, Card had to make himself known and he did just that both at the provincial and national levels.
 
While attending Harry Ainlay High School, Card competed on provincial squads, the Alberta Junior A Team and Junior Americas Cup Team (top four junior golfers in province), as well as playing in the Canadian Amateur in 1983.
 
Card sent a letter to Washington State and received a response from then Director of Athletics Sam Jankovich. Since Pullman was relatively close to home (13-hour drive), he visited the campus and found it to be a perfect fit.
 
"I went down there and it was awesome," Card recalled. "It was a great place and I knew that I could play there."
 
At WSU, Card played in the third event of his freshman year and only missed one tournament for the rest of his career.  A two-time team captain for the Cougars, he lettered all four years and competed in all four Pac-10 Championships events.
 
Card received a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance in 1987. The next two years he served as the Finance and Administrative Officer for the Division of Student Affairs Office at WSU and was a staff analyst for Student Services.
 
In June of 1990, Card saw a job advertised at Western.
 
"Here was an opportunity to do what I was educated to do, coupled with my passion for sports and athletics," he said. "If I could be around an athletic program and handle all the finances, that's a perfect fit. So, there's no question that was a job I really wanted.
 
"Yes, you have work – finances, spreadsheets, forecasting, budgets, etc. But you're doing it for football, basketball, soccer and all the rest of the sports. Couple that with being in Bellingham of which I had heard nothing but rave reviews … I flew over, interviewed and was offered the job, which I accepted."
 
"Edmonton to Pullman to Bellingham. I've been running away from the snow my entire life," Card said laughing. "I have no inclination to go back to the frozen tundra or anything like it."
 
Card's search for a warmer climate has certainly proven to be a huge plus for Western.
 
Hole in One!
 
One of what is believed to be only three holes in one by a Western golfer in competition came during Steve Card's coaching tenure.
 
That occurred on October 17, 2012, when Craig Crawford, a junior from Arlington, aced No.16, a 192-yard par 3 at Sevillano Links in Corning, California, during the Chico State Invitational.
 
"I threw my (6-iron) club up in the air because I was so excited," Crawford said at the time. "Watching the ball go in from that far, it doesn't happen often."
 
Just over a year later on Oct. 22, 2013, Chris Hatch, a freshman from Mukilteo (Kamiak), used just one stroke to hole out on the No.2 215-yard par 3 at the Black Horse Golf Club in Seaside, California, in final-round action at the CSU Monterey Bay Invitational.
 
Western's first hole in one came in 1938. It was struck by Jeff Teareau in a match against the University of British Columbia at Vancouver, BC. Later that season, he took medalist honors in leading the Vikings to the Tri-Normal League title at Ellensburg.