Karsten Creek readies for first NCAA Women’s Regional

Karsten Creek, the home of Oklahoma State golf, will host an NCAA event on the women’s side for the first time this week when the NCAA Central Regional gets underway. The 54-hole event will begin Thursday and run through Saturday with 18 holes being played each day.

The field at the par-72, 6,200-yard layout will consist of 24 teams and five individuals with the top eight squads and two individuals not on those teams advancing to the NCAA Championship. The Cowgirls will be the event’s No. 6 seed and will be grouped with Arizona and LSU for the first two rounds. OSU will begin play on Thursday at 8:36 a.m. and will begin its second round at 12:56 p.m. on Friday. Live scoring for the event will be available at golfstat.com. There is no charge to watch.

The Cowgirls are competing in their 22nd consecutive NCAA regional, and have advanced to the NCAA Championships 11 of the last 13 years through regional play. The Cowgirls have finished in the top five in seven of their last nine regional appearances and 10 of their last 13. OSU claimed its first-ever regional title in 2007 at the Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club in St. George, Utah.

This season marks OSU’s seventh appearance in the Central Regional. OSU has competed at the West Regional on 12 occasions and the East Regional three times. The Cowgirls have a pair of regional medalists in Charlotta Eliasson (1994) and Pernilla Lindberg (2007).

This event will mark the first time a women’s regional has been conducted at Karsten Creek. The Tom Fazio design has previously hosted the Big 12 Invitational in 2001 and the Big 12 Women’s Championship in 2008. On the men’s side, Karsten Creek has hosted the NCAA Championship twice, holding the event in 2003 and 2011. Additionally, the course served as the home to the Karsten Creek Collegiate in 1996, the NCAA Central Regional in 2001, the Ping/Golfweek Preview in 2002 and 2010 and the NCAA South Central Regional in 2009.