Southwestern Oklahoma State Athletics

Cory Smith put together a remarkable career as collegiate golfer at Southwestern under longtime coach Cecil Perkins. Smith graduated from Elk City High School where he was a three-time selection to the Oklahoma All-State team. Smith was the cornerstone of a program that established itself as one of the top small college golf teams in the nation.

He earned NAIA all-American honors in 1995, 1996 and 1997, finishing 14th, 15th and eighth in consecutive national tournaments. His bid for a fourth All-American honor was denied when he placed one-stroke out of the required Top 15.

The Smith-led golf teams had three consecutive top five finishes at the NAIA Tournament, including a pair of third place efforts in 1996 and 1997. Perhaps no tournament victory was more impressive than what Smith and teammates Corey Reneau, Joel Burleson, Greg Jones and Steve Thomas did in April of 1997. SWOSU shot a 288 on the final day of the Lone Star Conference Championship to win the school’s first-ever NCAA Division II conference championship.

Smith graduated in 1999 with a degree in finance. He went on to play professionally on several satellite tours while living in Florida. Following a brief retirement in 2001, Smith returned to golf in 2005 and is currently the Head Golf Professional at Elk City Golf and Country Club.