The RoundHouse | 11/30/2023 10:56:00 AM

 By Paul Suellentrop
 
Generations of golf come together when the Stevens family eats.
 
"The stories are hilarious," Cathy (Stevens) Tilma said. "We talk about 'In this tournament, this happened.' Or 'I'm hitting it left,' and my dad or my brother will get out a club and say, 'This is what we're doing to fix it.'"
 

Wichita State sophomore golfer Kate Tilma is the latest member of the family to soak up the decades of wit, knowledge, and opinions to shape her college career. She wrapped up her first fall as a Shocker with a 73.7 stroke average, second on the team, and with a fifth-place finish in the Payne Stewart Memorial, best among the Shockers.
 
There might not be a better family in the state to learn the sport alongside. When Johnny Stevens, her grandfather, and a charter inductee into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame, teaches golf, he teaches it the way Ben Hogan played.
 
"They're very talkative at dinner," she said. "They'll debate anything. My grandpa has taught me so much about my swing. It's more of an old-fashioned swing, but he knows everything about it."
 
The Stevens golf story starts with Uncle Bill Lewis, a golf pro at courses such as the Wichita Country Club and Bay Hill in Orlando. Johnny Stevens is Bill Lewis' nephew. Stevens earned All-American honors in 1963 and 1964 at Wichita State, played on the PGA Tour and won the Kansas Junior, Kansas Amateur and Kansas Senior Amateur.
 
Cathy Tilma, Johnny's daughter, won the 1991 Big Eight title at Oklahoma and coached Wichita State's women's team. Charlie Stevens, Johnny's son, played at TCU and his son Sam – Johnny's grandson – plays on the PGA Tour.
 

"They have so much golf insight," Kate Tilma said. "I'm really close with (her cousin) Sam. He's always willing to help. My grandfather is a huge part. He knows the game like no other. You can call him for anything."
 
And there are plentiful Shocker connections. Tommy Tilma, her father, played baseball at WSU from 1990-93. Grandfather Tom Tilma also played baseball. Great grandfather Nick Stevens played football. Cousin Abby Stevens played on three Missouri Valley Conference tennis champions from 2014-2016.
 
"She is so happy to be here in Wichita," Cathy Tilma said. "She's home. Wichita is home. Our whole family grew up in Wichita. We all came back."
 

Kate Tilma played in three events as a freshman at Kansas State before transferring to Wichita State. That background from a golf family shows up in practice and tournaments.
 
"She has a very level demeanor when she's playing," coach Tom McCurdy said. "She hits it a mile. She's got every shot in the book. In just about every round, she's given herself opportunity score lower."
 
Tilma compiled an impressive amateur resume before coming to Wichita State. She won the 2020 Kansas Junior Girls and Kansas Women's Amateur, the first time for that double. She finished second in Class 5A in 2021 and 2022 for Kapaun Mount Carmel, which won the team title both years.
 
In September, she shot a 1-under-par 215 to finish in a tie for fifth at the Payne Stewart Memorial. She also finished in a tie for 19th in the Coeur D'Alene Intercollegiate.
 
"She hits it a very long way," said sophomore Mackenzie Wilson. "You can count on her to post a good score. That's made me better, because I'm trying to be better than Kate. Kate is trying to be the best on the team. I'm trying to be the best."
 

Despite all the family history and her golfing skills, Kate Tilma is a latecomer to the sport. Basketball was her first love – she played at Kapaun and still slips in an occasional pickup game at a YMCA.
 
"I was really big into basketball," she said. "I was good at it, so my parents never really pushed that 'You have to do golf.'"
 
She started golf as a freshman in high school, struggled, and improved dramatically as a sophomore.
 

"She progressed really quickly," Cathy Tilma said. "She has a really strong work ethic. She does not leave the course. As long as there's light out, she's on the course."
 
McCurdy describes Kate Tilma as a serious member of a team that is driven and competitive. That environment, she said, is one of the reasons she chose Wichita State. Recovering from a bad shot and moving right to the next shot was her focus in the fall.
 
"We push each other in qualifying," Kate Tilma said. "All our scores are pretty low. Everyone never gives up and fights for every shot."
 
After those rounds, it's often time for meals and golf talk with the family. Learning about golf never stops for those in the Stevens family.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.