OU women set for San Antonio Regional
NORMAN – The University of Oklahoma women’s golf team will begin NCAA tournament play this weekend as the No. 14 seed in the NCAA San Antonio Regional. The 18-team field will play Thursday-Saturday (May 7-9) at the par-72, 6,428-yard Briggs Ranch Golf Club.
The San Antonio Regional is one of four 54-hole preliminary events for the NCAA Championships finals. The low six teams and low three individuals not on an advancing team from each regional will move on to the NCAA finals, which will be held May 22-27 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
The Sooners are coming off a seventh-place finish at the Big 12 Championship, also held in the Alamo City, logging a three-round 894 (+30). Freshman Hannah Wood paced the Sooners, tying for fifth place with a 217 (+1).
Sixth-year OU head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell said she’s hopeful her squad’s experience at the Briggs Ranch Golf Club will pay off this weekend.
“We are happy to be playing this week and we believe anything can happen,” Drouin-Luttrell said. “We have to play against the course. We’ve had some great practices lately and hopefully those will pay off for us. This course is a place we love and have experience playing.”
The Sooners will tee off Thursday on hole 10 starting at 8:24 a.m. CT with Gonzaga and Kennesaw State. Live scoring and results will be available at GolfStat.com.
NCAA SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL FIELD (GOLFWEEK/SAGARIN RANKING):
1. UCLA (2)
2. Washington (1)
3. Texas A&M (9)
4. Tennessee (13)
5. Arizona State (18)
6. Baylor (19)
7. Oregon (23)
8. Florida State (28)
9. Auburn (29)
10. Texas Tech (38)
11. Texas (41)
12. Houston (50)
13. Gonzaga (51)
14. Oklahoma (52)
15. Kennesaw State (60)
16. Lamar (87)
17. Boston University (135)
18. Alabama State (192)
INDIVIDUALS
1. Madison Talley, Kansas State
2. Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, Kansas
3. Marika Liu, Yale
4. Camino Sardinero, UTEP
5. Anica Yoo, Oregon State
6. Manon Molle, New Mexico
OU LINEUP
1. Hannah Wood, Freshman: Holds the squad’s lowest scoring average (73.11; +1.41) … Won the Clover Cup in March with a collegiate-best 209 (-7) … Named Golfweek’s Player of the Week on March 17 … Recorded six top-20 finishes in nine team events (67 percent) … Has two top-five finishes this season … Owner of five of the team’s six lowest rounds … Registered a 68 (-4) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational, the team’s lowest round in relation to par.
2. Ana Ruiz, Freshman: Holds the team’s second-lowest scoring average (74.26; +2.48) … Has registered three top-20 finishes and one top-10 showing … Recorded a collegiate-best 215 (-1) at the elite PING/ASU Invitational to share 10th place … Tied for 17th place at the Big 12 Championship … Has registered six par-or-better rounds this season … Has competed in all nine team events this season.
3. Rylee Pedigo, Freshman: Registered a collegiate-best finish at the Big 12 Championship, sharing 28th place … Lowest 54-hole total is 221 (+5), coming at the Westbrook Spring Invitational and the Alamo Invitational … Recorded two even-par rounds this season … Has competed in eight of the team’s nine events.
4. Alexandra Kaui, Sophomore: Shared 13th place at the Schooner Fall Classic with a season-low 209 (-1) … Holds the team’s third-best season scoring average (75.74; +3.96) … 2014 Big 12 Freshman of the Year … Tied for 16th place at last year’s NCAA Championships … 2014 Honorable Mention WGCA All- American … Holds OU’s all-time best 54-hole score in relation to par at 206 (-10), set last year at San Antonio’s Briggs Ranch Golf Club.
5. Valerie Tanguay, Freshman: Joined the team in January … Has played in all five spring events … Tied for 23rd place at the LSU Tiger Classic, her season-best finish … Recorded a season-best 221 (+5) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational, tying for 33rd place … Registered her lowest 18-hole score at the PING/ ASU Invitational with a 72 (E).
THE COURSE
The par-72, 6,428-yard Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas, will serve as the host site for the 2015 NCAA San Antonio Regional.
The Briggs Ranch Golf Club is also home to the Alamo Invitational, where the Sooners have had great success. In 2012, OU won the tournament by eight shots and registered what was then the best 54-hole score in school history (848; -16). In 2013, the Sooners shattered their previous record at the event, carding an 840 (-24) and again winning the tournament by eight shots. Then-freshman Alexandra Kaui broke the OU 18-hole record, logging a 65 (-7) in the final round of the tournament for a three-round 10-under, the best 54-hole score in relation to par in school history. This fall, the Sooners recorded a three-round 877 (+13) and shared ninth place in the event.
FORMAT
Teams will compete in 54 holes of stroke play over three days (18 holes each Thursday, Friday and Saturday). Play will begin at 7:30 a.m. CT Thursday with OU teeing off in nine-minute increments starting at 8:24 a.m.
NCAA REGIONAL HISTORY
Last season, the Sooners picked up a fourth-place finish at the NCAA West Regional at the Tumble Creek Golf Course at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Wash. The team qualified for its eighth NCAA Championship appearance and finished a program-best fourth place at nationals at the Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
In 2013, OU hosted the NCAA Central Regional at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman and finished in second place. The team qualified for the NCAA Championships and placed ninth at the tournament.
WEATHER FORECAST
Thursday: High of 82 degrees with a 40 percent chance of rain and S-SE winds at 10-15 mph.
Friday: High of 86 degrees with a 50 percent chance of rain and S-SE winds at 15 mph.
Saturday: High of 85 degrees with an 80 percent chance of rain and S-SE winds at 15-20 mph.
LIVE STATS
Live stats will be available at GolfStat.com.