College preview; OU, OSU, Tulsa in action over weekend
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Oklahoma heads to West Lafayette, Ind., this weekend to close its regular season at the Boilermaker Invitational, hosted by Purdue. The two-day, 54-hole tournament was moved up a day due to weather and will now tee off Friday afternoon at Ackerman-Allen Golf Course, where teams will play 18 holes followed by 36 holes on Saturday.
The 15-team field is highlighted by the 11th-ranked Sooners, the field’s only top-25 team. Ohio State is ranked 26th in the latest Golfstat rankings, and Missouri checks in at 42nd.
A standard five-count-four event, the Sooners’ lineup is comprised of reigning Big 12 Golfer of the Month Ben Lorenz, Patrick Welch, Stephen Campbell Jr., Drew Goodmanand Jase Summy. In addition, Jaxon Dowell and Jake Holbrook, who shared second place at the Spring Indy earlier in the week, will compete as unattached players.
The 2023 edition marks the 19th edition of the Boilermaker but is just the second time the tournament is held at Ackerman-Allen GC after 17 years at the Kampen Course. The course will play as a par-71 at 7,275 yards.
The tournament marks OU’s last event of the regular season, and the Sooners seek their fourth win of the year, which would also be the team’s second straight after sweeping the team and individual titles at The Goodwin. Following the conclusion of the Boilermaker, Oklahoma will travel to Hutchinson, Kan., and Prairie Dunes for the Big 12 championship, slated for April 24-26.
Cowboys to compete in Thunderbird Collegiate
PHOENIX – Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team will be back in action this weekend at the Thunderbird Collegiate at Papago Golf Course.
The Cowboys have not competed since a fifth-place finish at the Haskins Award Invitational on April 2 due to the postponement of the Stitch Intercollegiate in North Carolina. OSU’s altered schedule now includes a trip to West Virginia for the Mountaineer Invitational.
The Thunderbird will host 12 teams and is slated to get underway with 36 holes on Friday with the first round set to begin at 7:00 a.m. (MST). The final round will take place Saturday morning at the par-71, 7,503-yard layout.
Nine Cowboys will be in action at the event with the starting five consisting of fifth years Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Leo Oyo as well as senior Hazen Newman and juniors Jonas Baumgartner and Bo Jin.
Seniors Dillon Stewart and Rayhan Thomas, sophomore Jordan Wilson and freshman John Wild will compete individually.
The Cowboys finished fourth at last year’s event and won the team title in 1988, 1983, 1977 and 1974.
Anders Hultman is the most recent OSU medalist at the Thunderbird, taking top honors in 2001. He is joined by Michael Bradley (1988), Willie Wood (1983) and Lindy Miller (1977) as Cowboys to win the individual title.
Following play in Arizona, the Cowboys will make their way to Bridgeport, West Virginia and Pete Dye Golf Club for the Mountaineer Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
Live scoring for both events will be available at golfstat.com.
Tulsa off to Florida for American Athletic Conference Championship
TULSA, Okla. –– The Tulsa women’s golf team will compete at the American Athletic Conference Championships, Monday-Wednesday, April 17-19, where the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships will be determined.
The conference’s 10 teams – UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, East Carolina, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Tulane, Tulsa and Wichita State – will compete at the 6,289-yard, par-72 Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla.
Tulsa will be looking to regain the league title it won in 2021 at Pinehurst No. 6 in North Carolina, winning by three strokes over Houston. Tulane won last year’s championship with a five-stroke victory over Houston, while the Golden Hurricane finished in seventh place.
UCF and SMU come into the tournament as the favorites as both are ranked among the nation’s top-30 in the most recent WGCA Coaches Poll. The Knights are ranked 18th and SMU 27th. In the national Golfstat rankings, UCF is No. 18, SMU is 28th, while Tulsa is 36th and Houston is 38th.
Tulsa enters the championship event with the team of senior Lilly Thomas, sophomores Sydney Seigel and Lovisa Gunnar and freshmen Grace Kilcrease and Jenni Roller
Kilcrease leads the Hurricane with a 72.1 stroke average in 29 rounds, while turning in six top-10 finishes in nine events. Thomas has a 72.6 average, with six top-12 finishes in nine tournaments played. Thomas is the reigning AAC Golfer of the Week after turning in a medalist performance at The Bruzzy two weeks ago.
Gunnar and Seigel follow with 73.2 and 73.6 stroke averages this season, while Roller has hit at an average of 74.1 in eight tournaments. At last year’s American Championship, Seigel placed seventh overall and Gunnar finished in 14thplace to lead the Hurricane.
Live scoring for The American Championships is available at Golfstat.com. Wednesday’s final round will be aired on ESPN+.
ORU’s Swan is named Summit League Golfer of the Week
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Oral Roberts’ Lydia Swan garnered the latest TicketSmarter #SummitGF Peak Golfer of the Week accolade, League officials announced Thursday. Swan picked up a runner-up finish at ORU’s Spring Invite to claim the female honor.
Swan turned in the best tournament of her young collegiate career, tying for second at the Golden Eagles’ home event with a career best 54-hole total of 213 (-3). The North East, Pa., native posted three rounds of par or better, including a career-best 70 (-2) in the second round at The Club at Indian Springs.
Swan made 39 pars and nine birdies and shared the 76-play field lead in par-5 scoring at -4. Her efforts helped the Golden Eagles to a second-place finish. She is the fourth different ORU golfer to earn a TicketSmarter weekly or monthly honor this season joining Sarah Bell (October), Malene Arildsen (March 9) and Kate Strickland (March 23).
FEMALE PEAK GOLFER OF THE WEEK
Lydia Swan, Oral Roberts
Fr. | North East, Pa.
- Posted career bests in 54-hole scoring (213; -13) and single-round scoring (70; -2) en route to a tie for second at the ORU Spring Invite
- Runner-up finish marked the first top-five showing of her career
- This is the first weekly honor of Swan’s career
Also nominated: Anna Zanusso (Denver); Catherine Monty (North Dakota State); Emma Henningsson (South Dakota).