Bobby Cornett is entering his 40th season (2024-25) as a men's golf coach at Texas Wesleyan.
The Hall of Fame coach led the Rams from 1985-99 as head coach, then served ten seasons as an assistant coach while focusing on the National Senior Tour and Senior PGA Tour before returning to his role as head coach prior to the 2009-10 season. After winning his fourth National Championship and earning his fourth NAIA National Coach of the Year award in 2019, Cornett turned the reins of the program over to Shaun Hensley while stepping back into the role of assistant coach.
Cornett is a member of the Texas Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame ('86), the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame ('10), and the NAIA Hall of Fame ('12). He has been named NAIA National Coach of the Year four times while leading the team to National Championships in 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2019.
In his final season as head coach (2018-19), the Rams posted a dominant performance at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, AZ, to win the program's seventh national title. The Rams finished at +30 (1166) to top Coastal Georgia by nine strokes and rival Oklahoma City by 16 strokes. Victor Miron tied for eighth at +6 for the tournament while Tyron Davidowitz (T11) and Rowan Lester (T14) also posted top-15 individual finishes. On the season, the Rams took six tournament victories, including the SAC Championship, pushing the program's all-time total to 222 wins at the time. Five Rams were named All-American in Tyron Davidowitz, Declan Kenny, Rowan Lester, Victor Miron and Futa Yamagishi.
As a player, Cornett led the Rams to four Big State Conference Championships and an NAIA National Championship in 1969. In 1972, Cornett was named NAIA All-American and was the Big State Conference individual medalist.
After a seven-year sabbatical from golf during which he served as a juvenile probation officer, Cornett made the jump to the professional ranks following a runner-up finish at the 1977 Texas Amateur. As a professional, Cornett won several times while making the finals of the PGA Tour School five times and the Senior PGA Tour School twice.
In 1983, he returned to Texas Wesleyan as assistant golf coach before taking over as head coach in 1985. Over the next 14 seasons, he led the Rams to 63 tournament wins, including the National Championships in 1990, 1995, and 1999. Cornett also produced 23 All-American selections and three National Medalists during that stretch.
In his second stint as head coach (2009-2019) he led the Rams to 10 straight top-10 finishes at the NAIA National Tournament including the program's seventh title in 2019.
In 24 seasons as head coach, his teams produced 90 wins, with at least one win in 23 seasons. In all but two seasons the team produced multiple victories. Twice his teams posted eight wins in a season (1989 and 1999), just one shy of the school record of nine wins set by O.D. Bounds’ 1983 squad. In total, he has coached 51 All-Americans and 21 NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
Cornett earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and psychology from Texas Wesleyan in 1972. He and his wife, Denny, have one son, Austin.
NAIA National Tournament Finishes under Cornett
1986: 9th
1987: 7th
1988: 3rd
1989: 3rd
1990: National Champions
1991: 8th
1994: 3rd
1995: National Champions
1996: 4th
1997: 12th
1998: 2nd
1999: National Champions
2010: 7th
2011: 9th
2012: 6th
2013: 2nd
2014: 6th
2015: 6th
2016: 4th
2017: 3rd
2018: 3rd
2019: National Champions
