Tag Archives: Arkansas Razorbacks

Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira Wins Latin America Amateur Championship

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Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira is celebrating a big win…

The Argentine golfer made two straight birdies to turn away his last challenge and closed with a 5-under 67 on Sunday to win the Latin America Amateur Championship, earning a spot in three majors this year.

Mateo Fernandez de OliveiraFernandez de Oliveira, the second Argentine to win since the Latin America Amateur began in 2015, broke the 72-hole scoring record of Joaquin Niemann by eight shots. He finished at 23-under 265.

“I’m still very shocked. I think my life has changed,” Fernandez de Oliveira said. “I’m looking forward to a great year. I’m going to take advantage of the three opportunities that I’ve been given for winning this event. So, I’m very happy and I just want to enjoy every second of it.”

The senior at Arkansas atoned for last year, when he missed a playoff by one shot at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic.

Fernandez de Oliveira was staked to a four-shot lead at the start of the final round at Grand Reserve. Luis Carrera of Mexico, who also closed with a 67, managed to get within two shots. But the Argentine birdied the 11th and 12th holes, and a steady diet of pars was enough for him.

The victory sends him to the Masters in April and to Los Angeles Country Club in June for the U.S. Open and to Royal Liverpool for the Open Championship in July.

Royal Liverpool is where the late Roberto de Vicenzo became the first Argentine to win a major when he held off Jack Nicklaus to win the British Open in 1967.

Fernandez de Oliveira went to Royal Liverpool in 2016 and felt the Argentine pride.

“The minute I walked into the clubhouse, they asked me where I was from,” he said. “And I said, ‘Argentina’, and they told me, ‘OK, come with me.’ They took me to the lunchroom where they have portraits and everything about when he won. I felt very proud.”

Carrera was awarded an exemption to the final stages of qualifying for the U.S. Open and Open Championship as the runner-up.

“I think the week has been fantastic,” Carrera said. “I am not sad at all. I just wish I could have won, but it was a great experience. I proved myself that I can play great golf, be up there, and win big tournaments. It is satisfying.”

Alvarez to Coach the Wisonsin Badgers in the Outback Bowl

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Barry Alvarez is heading back to the sidelines…

The 67-year-old Spanish-American former-coach-turned-athletic director for the Wisconsin Badgers will coach the team for its New Year’s Day bowl game in the wake of Gary Andersen‘s departure, the school announced Thursday.

Barry Alvarez

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that former Wisconsin assistant and current Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst will become the Badgers’ new head coach. Oregon State announced Wednesday that Andersen was leaving the Badgers to coach the Beavers.

Alvarez, the winningest coach in Badgers history (118-74-4), will coach Wisconsin against Auburn in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

He said Thursday that a number of seniors asked him to consider coaching the team during the bowl game.

It’s not the first time Alvarez will coach against the Tigers, as he finished out his full-time coaching career with a 24-10 victory against Auburn in the 2006 Capital One Bowl.

Alvarez also returned to the sideline to coach the Badgers in the 2013 Rose Bowl after former coach Bret Bielema announced that he was leaving to coach at Arkansas.

Alvarez, who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010, coached Wisconsin for 16 seasons from 1990 to 2005. He also served as a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee this past season.

“There’s no problem with Barry coaching the bowl game,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock said Thusday. “It doesn’t affect his ability to select the teams next year.”

Alvarez to Earn $118,500 to Coach Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl

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Barry Alvarez is set to make bank for coaching his former Wisconsin Badgers football team in this year’s Rose Bowl…

The 65-year-old Latino football coach, the team’s coach from 1990 to 2005, will earn $118,500 for returning to the sideline to coach on January 1. And should the Badgers beat Stanford, he’ll get a $50,000 bonus.

Barry Alvarez

The executive committee of the university’s Board of Regents this week agreed to the terms after the surprise departure last week of coach Bret Bielema to take the same job at Arkansas.

During his span as Wisconsin’s coach, Alvarez won the Rose Bowl three times. The money for the coaching job will come out of Bielema’s $1 million buyout to be paid by Arkansas.

Alvarez will receive $195,000 in December, which is 90% of Bielema’s monthly coaching salary. He also will get $8,500, which is 10% of his athletics director salary. The total pay of $203,500 is a one-time $118,500 increase in his monthly salary.

“We weighed the factors involved, including the unique circumstances that developed less than a month before the game, the challenges of the job, the marketplace and his strength as a coach and concluded that this is a reasonable arrangement,” board President Brent Smith said.

Interim University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor David Ward said the pay package was fair and proportional.

“Coach Alvarez has a one-of-a-kind skill set that the university needs to be successful — both in the Rose Bowl and in attracting the best coaching candidates in the search for someone to lead the Badgers football program going forward,” Ward said.

Alvarez to Coach His Former Wisconsin Team at the Rose Bowl

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Barry Alvarez will be stopping to smell the roses on New Year’s Day…

The 65-year-old Latino football coach will return to the sidelines to lead the Wisconsin Badgers when they face No. 8 Stanford at the Rose Bowl on on January 1. Thursday’s announcement came two days after Bret Bielema stepped down to take over at Arkansas.

Barry Alvarez

“I’m very excited about coming back,” said Alvarez. “This will be a one-game — I’m not looking to do it any longer than one game.”

Bielema’s departure was a shock, coming just three days after Wisconsin earned a school-record third straight trip to the Rose Bowl with a 70-31 beating of then-No. 14 Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game. But speculation immediately centered on Alvarez returning as coach, at least for one game.

His return will mean little disruption for players. Even though Alvarez stepped down as head coach after the 2005 season, he’s remained an integral part of the football program as Wisconsin’s athletic director and the team is comfortable with him. They won’t have to adapt to a new coaching style.

In fact, it was the players who convinced Alvarez to come back. Following Bielema’s announcement, Alvarez received messages from senior quarterback Curt Phillips and captain Mike Taylor, who said the players had met and decided they wanted him as their Rose Bowl coach.

“I told him I would be honored to coach them,” said Alvarez. “I wanted them to understand, if I was going to coach them, we weren’t going to screw around, we were going to go out there to win.”

Alvarez’s 118-73-4 record in 16 seasons coaching the Badgers includes a 3-0 mark in the Rose Bowls — Wisconsin’s only victories in eight trips to Pasadena.

During his tenure as head coach, Alvarez turned the program into one of the Big Ten‘s top teams. Wisconsin had had five straight losing seasons before Alvarez arrived in 1990, and posted a winning record in just six of the previous 26 seasons. After losing to USC in the 1963 Rose Bowl, Wisconsin would go 19 years without a bowl appearance.