Cowgirls lead, Tulsa third, OU seventh heading into final round of Jim West Challenge
SAN MARCOS, Texas —- Oklahoma State women’s golf jumped out to a seven-stroke lead after the first 36 holes of play Sunday in the Jim West Challenge at Kissing Tree Golf Club in San Marcos, Texas. The University of Tulsa sits in third place at even-par while the University of Oklahoma is in seventh place.
The Cowgirls finished the day at 9-under par, one of just two teams under par heading into tomorrow’s finale. After carding a team score of 3-under 285 through the first 18 holes Sunday, the Cowgirls came back even stronger in the second round thanks in large part to Han-Hsuan Yu’s outstanding play.
“It was a good, solid two rounds by the team with seven of our eight counting scores at par or better,” head coach Greg Robertson said. “They battled some windy conditions and really played the par-5’s well. That was what made the difference.
“We need to keep the foot on the accelerator and come out firing like we did in the first 36 holes.”
Yu found her groove on the back nine of the first round, carding two birdies and an eagle to finish the round at 4-under. She continued her hot play during the second round, draining six birdies to put herself in a tie for first place at 6-under par. The 36-hole score is Yu’s best of the season to this point.
She is looking to capture her first career individual win, as well as her sixth top-10 finish in her last 11 tournaments played.
Rina Tatematsu will enter the final round inside the top-10 after carding rounds of 71 and 70 to start the tournaments. She used a bogey-free back nine that included three birdies to get climb into the top-10.
Tatematsu is looking for her best finish since she won the East Lake Cup last October.
Clemence Martin finished the long day at even-par, signing rounds of 71 and 73. Martin was the only golfer with two eagles Sunday, and went 6-under on par-5 holes to tie with Yu for best among the field.
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard bounced back strong in the second round with a 70 en route to a tied for 20thplacing as she capitalized on four front nine birdies in the afternoon round.
Thitaporn Saithip rounded out the Cowgirls lineup in San Marcos, landing in a tie for 31st after a solid even-par second round.
As a team, the Cowgirls finished first in par-5 scoring at 24-under, and seven of their eight counting scores were par-or-better.
The Cowgirls are set to tee off Monday morning at 8:30 a.m., in search of their first tournament title of the season.
The final round will once again be available to stream on ESPN+, with the broadcast beginning at the same time.
Tulsa is in third place following the opening day.The Hurricane carded rounds of 293-284 for an even-par 576 total at the par-72 Kissing Tree Golf Club.
Tulsa, behind the play of three top-20 scorers, trails first-place Oklahoma State’s score of 9-under 567 and SMU’s second-place 2-under par 574 total in the 15-team field.
Hurricane freshman Grace Kilcrease is in third place individually at 5-under par 139. She turned in an opening round score of 4-under par 68 and shot a 1-under par 71 to close out the second round. Senior Lilly Thomas is in 15th place with an even-par total of 144 after scoring rounds of 75 and 3-under 69.
Another freshman Emily Boehrer was 1-over par with rounds of 75 and 70 for 20th place. Sophomores Sydney Seigel and Lovisa Gunnar are in 37th and 67th place, respectively. Seigel shot identical rounds of 74 for a 4-over par 148, while Gunnar scored a 10-over par score with rounds of 76 and 78.
OSU’s Han Hsuan Yu and TCU’s Caitlyn Macnab share the individual lead, one stroke ahead of Tulsa’s Kilcrease, with 6-under par scores of 138.
Nina Lang and Mikhaela Fortuna led the Oklahoma women’s golf team through the first two rounds.
Lang opened the day on the second hole and tallied three-conservative birdies to finish the front nine. She completed a clean scorecard on the back nine and dropped one stroke on the final hole of the first round.
Lang started the second round down three strokes through four holes and responded with a birdie on the par-4 eighth hole. After making the turn, she tallied birdies on three of the next seven holes. Lang concluded the back nine 3-under 33 and 1-under with two holes remaining. The junior finished the first two rounds 3-under 143.
Fortuna recorded four birdies in the first round and netted back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to finish 1-under 71. She finished the second-round front nine 1-over 37, recording a birdie on the third hole. Fortuna caught fire on the back nine, recording three birdies to finish the opening day 3-under 141.
Meagan Winans completed the opening round 6-over 78 and recorded her lone birdie on the 18th hole. Winans responded with four birdies in the second round and tallied an even par 72. She is tied for 48th through 36 holes.
Raychel Nelke tied for 54th and ended the first 18 holes 5-over 77. Nelke recorded a pair of birdies on the back nine and finished the day 7-over 151.
Maria Fernanda Martinez rounded out the OU lineup with a 12-over 156.
Kaylee Vesely competed as an individual and tied for 38th. She tallied a 1-under 71 in the second round and drained an eagle on the 17th hole.
Teams will tee-off in a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Monday for the final 18 holes. The final round will be streamed on ESPN+ beginning at 9 a.m. (CT). Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.
TEAM RESULTS
- Oklahoma State 285-282=567
2 SMU 294-280=574
- Tulsa 292-284=576
- Houston 293-284=577
- Texas Tech 291-288=579
- TCU 294-286=580
- Oklahoma 294-287=581
- Tulane 292-292=584
T9. Colorado 293-295=588
T9. Ohio State 293-295=588
- New Mexico 295-298=593
- Texas State 306-288=594
- UNLV 293-302=595
- UTSA 301-301=602
- Missouri 308-300=608
TOP-5 INDIVIDUALS
T1. Han-Hsuan Yu, Oklahoam State 68-70=138 (-6)
T1. Caitlyn Macnab, TCU 66-72=138 (-6)
- Grace Kilcrease, Tulsa 68-71=139 (-5)
T4. Mackenzie Lee, SMU 73-67=140 (-4)
T4. Moa Svedenskiold, Houston 72-68=140 (-4)
T4. Mattingly Palmer, Texas State 69-71=140 (-4)
-#LoyalAlwaysTrue-
Live scoring will also be available at golfstat.com.