OC men rained out; Whitting wins for RSU in St. Edwards Invite
Photo: Cameron Brown finished fifth in the Rattler Invitational to lead OC in the tournament.
SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 20, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian’s hopes of a final-day rally at the Rattler Invitational were short-circuited by the south Texas weather on Tuesday.
Although golfers were able to complete the lightning-delayed second round at The Dominion Country Club in the morning, continued rainfall resulted in the cancellation of the scheduled third round, leaving OC in fifth place in the 16-team field with a score of 603.
In their opening tournament of the spring season, the Eagles finished 13 shots behind the winner, Henderson State (Ark.), and trailed three South Central Region teams – tournament host St. Mary’s (Texas), Texas A&M-Commerce and Western New Mexico. On the bright side, OC did beat five of the six other Heartland Conference squads in the event.
Junior Cameron Brown was OC’s top player on the par-72, 6,892-yard course, finishing his second round with a 74 and the tournament at 2-over 146, tied for fifth among the 85 players. He was nine shots behind the individual winner, Emilio Gonzales of St. Mary’s.
Two other Eagles tied for 18th – juniors Garrett White and Juan Pallach, who both finished at 150. White shot a 73 in the second round, Pallach a 74.
Freshman Andres Brictson (81) finished at 157, tied for 52nd, while junior Ethan Smith (81) tied for 62nd at 159.
Playing as an individual, freshman Jackson Phillips closed with a 76 and tied for 18th at 150.
OC’s next tournament will be the Las Vegas Desert Classic, to be hosted by Missouri-St. Louis at Royal Links Golf Club from March 4-6. That will begin a stretch of four tournaments in as many weeks for the Eagles.
Rogers State’s Whitting wins St. Edwards Invite
AUSTIN, Texas (Feb. 20, 2018) – Rogers State’s Jess Whitting posted a school record final round to win the St. Edward’s Invitational by three shots on Tuesday at the 5,802-yard, par 70 Onion Creek CC. The Rogers State women’s golf team placed fifth after the two rounds with a team score of 615 for two rounds. The Hillcats registered rounds of 309 and 306 today for the total team score. Oklahoma Christian placed ninth.
Whitting, a native of Perth, Australia, fired the lowest individual round in RSU school history at 3-under-par 67 in the final round today. Her round was four shots better than any other round during the two days of the tournament, propelling Whitting from two shots back after the first round to three shots up after 36 holes to win. She finished with a two-round total score of 2-over-par 142 after her first round of 5-over-par 75.
The Australian was blistering on the front nine, going 4-under-par with four birdies. She added a birdie on No. 10 for a stretch of five birdies in eight holes. Whitting added an eagle in her round on No. 17 along with four bogeys for the 3-under-par 67.
The score of 67 breaks the individual low round of 69 set by teammate Mica Eastin twice. The 3-under-par score ties the individual low round relative to par with Eastin’s 3-under-par 69 at the Dallas Baptist Classic on Oct. 13, 2015.
Mariana Flores and Alex Massie both finished in 23rd place in a field of 90 golfers. Flores, a sophomore from Mission, Texas, moved up the leaderboard by 18 spots in the final round with her score of 6-over-par 76. Massie ended with a 12-over-par 82 in the second round to total a two-round score of 157. Sophomore Sydney Murray carded a final round of 83 to post a 36-hole total of 161 after her first round 78. Eastin put together a two-round total of 163 with her scores of 81 today and 82 in the first round on Monday.
After a 299 team score in round one, Tarleton State hung on for a two-shot win in the team standings. TSU finished at 606 for two rounds and St. Mary’s was second at 608. Host St. Edward’s placed third at 610.
Anna Pool used a pair of eagles to shoot a one-over-par 71 to make a big move in the individual standings and lead Central Oklahoma on the final day. The Bronchos trimmed eight shots off their first-day score with a 306 in the rain and finished with a 620 total in their first tournament of the spring season.
Pool knocked nine strokes off her opening-round 80, getting a big boost by the two eagles. The sophomore standout jumped 26 spots in the medalist standings, finishing in a tie for eighth with a 151 total.
Makena Mucciaccio and Marla Souvvanasing both shot 78 for UCO, while Sydney Roberts had a 79 and Yuna Sato an 83. Mucciaccio tied for 12th at 153.
“Anna played phenomenal today, especially considering the conditions,” head coach Michael Bond said. “With the rain and everything I thought we played a little better today, though we still gave away too many shots. But it was a good start to the spring season for us and gives us something to build on.”
The Bronchos don’t play again until the Southern Nazarene Invitational March 5-6 at KickingBird Golf Club in Edmond.
Oklahoma Christian eased up a spot in the standings on the final day to finish in ninth place.
OC’s 319 team score was a two-shot improvement over its first-round score and left the Lady Eagles at 640, 34 shots behind Tarleton State (Texas).
The Lady Eagles’ top finisher was junior Elizabeth Freeman, who tied for 16th among 90 competitors at 155 after shooting a 7-over-par 79 on the 5,802-yard course on Tuesday.
Tied for 37th at 160 were OC sophomore Abigail Rigsby (79) and junior Kate Goodwin (81). Sophomore Ashton Nemecek tied for 55th at 165 after a final-round 80, while freshman Shaley Goad tied for 78th at 173 after shooting an 87.
Playing as an individual, OC freshman Felicity Wittenberg tied with Nemecek for 55th. Wittenberg posted a final-round 82.
OC’s next tournament will be March 5-6, when the Lady Eagles play in the Diffie Ford-Lincoln Invitational, to be hosted by Southern Nazarene at Kickingbird Golf Course in Edmond.