By Jessika Harkay | Sports Writer
This summer was a time of redemption for senior Cooper Dossey after suffering a wrist injury that resulted in surgery last fall.
Dealing with a triangular fibrocartilage complex cartilage tear (TFCC), and shifting his extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tendon out of place, Dossey missed four tournaments last season. The senior noted though that he spent the summer playing in tournaments — focusing on regaining his strength and confidence.
“To have that win early on in the summer was really big for me,” Dossey said. “It was cool to see the hard work pay off and that quickly too. If someone told me that week back in November that I would’ve won the Sunnehanna I would have laughed. It was a huge week for me, an emotional week too.”
Since the Sunnehanna Amateur tournament in June, Dossey finished first in the North-South Amateur Championship, and 17th in the US Amateur Championship.
Head coach Mike McGraw explained that Dossey gaining his strength back has made him a stronger player and it’s beginning to show.
“Cooper is an amazing competitor but competitiveness can only take you so far when you’re injured,” McGraw said. “You just can’t compete at the level you’d like. He had finally been healthy for a good stretch and played really well in the US Open Qualifying, played great in the North-South Am’s, and actually played very well in the US Am’s.”
Dossey ranks second in Bears’s program history with a 71.89 stroke average, trailing slightly behind Baylor alum and PGA Tour pro Jimmy Walker 71.55 mark.
Adding to Dossey’s year of development, on Monday the Bears took the 2019 Gopher Invitational title with two strokes over Texas A&M. Clinching this title allowed Dossey to take his fifth career top-5 finish, record his 10th career top-10 finish, and tie for seventh in par 3 scoring and third in par-5 scoring.
Grateful for his injury, the senior golfer was happy to be back on the course and the chance to continue pushing his career and creating a mark on the program.
“My freshman year I had a really good year. I think a lot of it was thinking that I could do it by myself,” Dossey said. “After my surgery, I had a lot of things to get put into perspective and my faith has strengthened a lot. I think that off the golf course, I was doing the right thing and it wasn’t just really coming to me on the golf course. Then just to have it all come back together in one week with my family there, it’s just a special week and I haven’t won in a while.”
Dossey’s relationship with his family continues to grow as his little brother Luke, joins him on the team this year as a freshman.
The Bears next travel on Friday to Olympia Fields, ILL., for the Fighting Illini Invitational.
