Jesuit’s most decorated golf star of the 1990s, John Phil Kidwell rode an impressive high school resume to an even more spectacular college career that included All-American accolades and a Big 12 Championship record that still stands more than 15 years after it was set.
Before taking his talents to the national stage at Oklahoma University, Kidwell was a four-time TCIL All-State selection for the Rangers. He was named team MVP after both his junior and senior seasons, and helped lead Jesuit Dallas to three consecutive TCIL state titles from 1995-97. Kidwell placed inside the top 15 seven times on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Tour, and in 1997, finished 14th overall at the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions.
As a redshirt freshman with the Sooners, Kidwell’s impact was immediate as he emerged as OU’s top performer at the Big 12 Championships with an 18th-place finish. His sophomore season, in which he started every tournament during the spring, was highlighted by a seventh-place finish at the Big 12 Championships and his first appearance at the NCAA Championships, where he finished 59th. Although he was a senior academically, Kidwell capped his collegiate career with a record-setting junior campaign. Garnering Third Team All-America recognition in addition to All-Big 12 plaudits, he led Oklahoma in a team-best six tournaments while maintaining a team-low average of 71.48 for the season. In the opening round of the 2002 Big 12 Championships, Kidwell made six birdies in a bogey-free round to card a single-round championship record score of 64. Although he finished as runner-up in the race for medalist honors, his three-day total of 203 set a new Oklahoma school record for lowest score in a single competition and his score on the first day of the Championships still stands as the best round ever recorded by a Big 12 golfer in conference play.
After graduation, Kidwell competed on various mini tours throughout the Southwest. He also qualified and competed in the Web.com Tour, which serves as the developmental track for the PGA Tour, and competed in two PGA Tour qualifying events.
