Robbie Webb (1976) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Robbie Webb

Induction:
1976

There have been athletes at the University of Southern Mississippi that have had a hand in elevating their particular sports to a new level. A level that helped to expose that sport to a new group of fans or to another part of the country. Athletes like that, have given that sport new credibility in certain circles.
   Robbie Webb was that type of athlete, a golfer that had few peers during his career under Coach B.O. Van Hook from 1958 to 1961. A golfer whose skills and talents helped him take the Southern Miss golf program to new heights.
   Although statistics on the Southern Miss golf program are scarce from the era in which Webb played, one thing is for certain, he was one of the longest hitters to play for the Golden Eagles. Few players at that time could match the booming tee shots he would hit, that consistently drew gasps from the spectators that watched him play.
   He was a player that had competed successful in the junior golf circles before joining the Southern Miss program and the basic fundamentals that he had mastered playing on that circuit prepared him quite well for playing on the collegiate level.
   Both as a junior and later in his career Webb was able to make a name for himself with his outstanding play in various amateur events, and won or was in contention on numerous occasions.
   In addition to being a long hitter, Webb possessed a solid short game, that allowed him to get up and down from many tricky situations and save par, and as one of the best putters to play at Southern Miss, he was deadly from anywhere on or around the green.
   By the time the 1958 season rolled around Southern Miss has playing a larger and more difficult schedule than they had played in the past and Webb immediately moved into the lineup. Although the 1958 team recorded just a 4-8 record in dual matches, they tangled with some of the best teams in the South, like Tulane and Texas A&M and finished the year playing in the Southern Intercollegiate in Athens, Georgia, where they finished 12th.
   The 1959 squad would finish with a 2-4 dual match record, but Webb had emerged as one of the strongest and best players on the team. The team was now playing on the new University golf course, which had opened earlier that year.
   The 1960 team led by Webb opened the year with a strong fifth place finish in the McNeese State Intercollegiate and also added a solid 10th place finish towards the end of the year in the Southern Intercollegiate. The dual match record was 6-3-1.
   As golf gained in popularity at Southern Miss, the team played an expanded schedule in 1961 and finished with a dazzling 13-3 dual match record. They finished 4th in the McNeese State Intercollegiate that year and 13th in the Southern Intercollegiate, where Webb and teammate Walter Love finished tied for 8th in the individual competition.
   After finishing at Southern Miss Webb went on to a successful career as a club professional and his contributions to golf around the state of Mississippi are unmatched.