Balanced Sooners grab lead in Westbrook Invitational
EORIA, Ariz. – Oklahoma is alone atop the Westbrook Invitational leaderboard after two rounds of play. The Sooners fired a 551 (-25) and sit one stroke ahead of Mississippi State with one round remaining at the par-72 6,252-yard Westbrook Village Golf Club in Peoria, Ariz.
All five competing Sooners find themselves in the top 25 after 36 holes, including two in the top five.
Libby Winans and Ellen Secor led the way for the Sooners on day one, as both golfers are 7-under after 36 holes, good for a fourth-place tie and seven shots off the lead. Junior Kaitlin Milligan joined Winans and Secor in the top 15, as the Norman native fired 4-under 68 in round two to move into a tie for 12th.
“I’m so proud of everyone for fighting until the end today, especially with how we finished the second round.” head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell said after the day. “We’ve got a great game plan and need to continue executing it for tomorrow. I love that we put ourselves in a great position for tomorrow. We’ll have to play our own game, one shot at a time.”
Winans got hot in the first round sinking four birdies on the front nine. She would go on to bogey No. 10 but then birdied the next six holes before ending her first 18 with a bogey to finish her round by carding an 8-under 64, tying her career low.round. In the second round, the sophomore collected three birdies, but her four bogeys brought her to 7-under to finish the day.
Joining Winans in a tie for fourth was Ellen Secor, who fired a 4-under 68 in round one followed by a 3-under 69 in round two. The 68 that Secor carded is a OU-best round for the senior, who transferred to Oklahoma from Colorado State.
The other Sooner in the top 15 was Kaitlin Milligan, who has finished inside the top 20 in 14 of her last 16 tournaments. Milligan was sitting at 1-under for the tournament heading into the final three holes of her day, but she birdied the final three holes to move up the leaderboard.
A few spots below Milligan on the board is Mikhaela Fortuna, who after scoring a 1-over 73 in round one, rallied to card a 4-under 68 in her next round to put her in a tie for 17th place at 3-under.
The final Sooner competing is Sydney Youngblood who is one stroke behind Fortuna and is tied for 22nd heading into the final round of play.
Oklahoma will try and hang on to the lead in the final round of play on Monday morning. The Sooners will be paired with Mississippi State (-24, 2nd) and the College of Charleston (-17, 3rd). The groups will start at 9:30 CT via shotgun start.
Live scoring will be available on BirdieFire.