Razorbacks hold off Sooners for team title, OU’s Barber is individual champ in Route 66 Invitational
By Ken MacLeod
The eighth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks won the Route 66 Invitational honoring Dale McNamra at Cedar Ridge, for the second consecutive year, shooting 11-under par as a team led by defending NCAA individual champion Maria Jose’ Marin’s 10-under performance.
That was not particularly surprising.
What raised some eyebrows is that the University of Oklahoma was not only right on the favored Razorbacks heels at 8-under, but that Savannah Barber, with a birdie on her final hole, edged Jose’ Marin for the individual crown, shooting 11-under par. And that teammate Gracie Mayo provided strong support at 7-under after a 4-under 68 in her final round.
Combined with Reagan Chaney’s 1-under 71, the Sooners shot 8-under 276 in the final round, matching their second round score for the best rounds shot by any team in the 14-team field. Only an opening 292 kept the Sooners from a significant victory, but this rapidly improving team certainly bears watching next spring.
“This team works really hard and wants to win,” said OU coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell. “I’m just really proud of them for putting in the work on a daily basis, and really pushing each other. Our culture is where we want it to be and these kids are the foundation of what we are now. We’re going to continue to build and the sky is the limit.”
Arkansas RazorbacksOU has three promising freshmen including Meg Tilma of Wichita, familiar to Oklahomans for all of her tremendous play in Oklahoma Junior Golf Tour events, to balance a team top heavy with upperclassmen such as seniors Barber, Mayo and Chaney. In this event the Sooners benefitted from top-25 performances by junior Raychel Nelke and freshman Earn S. Thiengsri, both tied for 25th at 7 over.
The host Tulsa Hurricane was a distant third at 869, 25 shots behind the Sooners. Tulsa coach Mike Roters’ team is missing one of its top players in Romaine Massery, who is playing this week in LPGA Tour qualifying school. If she doesn’t attain immediate status and returns for the rest of the season the Hurricane goes up a level, but without her needed some inspired play to compete with the Razorbacks and Sooners.
It got it in the first and third rounds from senior leader Jenni Roller, who shot a combined 6-under (68-70) in those two rounds. But her afternoon round Monday got away from her with a 78. She finished 1-over overall and tied for seventh place to lead TU.
Tulsa also got top-25 performances from Zoe Shamy, tied for 20th at 5-over, and from Allyn Stephens, tied for 25th at 7 over.
“In theory I would love for us to be up there competing for the title,” Roters said. “But this proves that we’ve got a little depth and some players that we’re starting to figure out who we are and what our identity is. To finish third here and beat everyone that we statistically should beat is good. But we’re a work in progress.”
