NORMAN – The No. 4 Oklahoma men’s golf team returns to action this week as it heads to Las Vegas, Nev., for the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will be played Monday-Wednesday (March 5-7) at the par-72, 7,510-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club.

The 15-team field includes four squads ranked in the GolfStat top 10 and eight in the top 25. OU is back in action after opening its spring season with a second-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic. The Sooners opened the event with their second-best team round of the season, shooting 274 (-10).

Redshirt sophomore Quade Cummins paced the Sooners in Puerto Rico, earning a share of third place at 209 (-4). Cummins’ third-place tied a career best. Senior Grant Hirschman claimed his fourth top-20 finish of the year with a three-round score of 215 (+2).

Hirschman tied for first place at last year’s Southern Highland Collegiate, posting a three-day total of 210 (-6).

The Sooners’ lineup at the Southern Highlands Collegiate will feature Hirschman and junior Brad Dalke, redshirt sophomores Cummins and Thomas Johnson and sophomore Garett Reband.

THE FIELD
(GOLFSTAT RANKINGS IN PARENTHESES)
Oklahoma (4), Alabama (7), Florida (8), Texas Tech (10), USC (17), Illinois (19), Pepperdine (23), UCLA (24), BYU (33), Northwestern (36), TCU (37), UNLV (47), UCF (50), Washington, SMU
OU LINEUP
1. Grant Hirschman, Senior: Took home fourth top-20 finish this season at the Puerto Rico Classic, finishing with a three-day total of 215 (+2) … Tied for second in the stroke play portion of the East Lake Cup with a 73 (+1) … Took eighth in the opening event of the year, shooting 206 (-10) at the Carmel Cup … Followed up by tying for 10th place at the Gopher Invitational in OU’s last event.

2. Brad Dalke, Junior: Named to the watch list for the 2018 Ben Hogan Award … Recorded a 69.85 stroke average during the fall season … Has recorded six top-10 finishes in his last eight events dating back to last season … Tied for seventh place at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational, carding all three rounds in the 60s… Took eighth place at the Gopher Invitational … Carded two rounds in the 60s at the Carmel Cup, tying for 11th at 208 (-8).

3. Quade Cummins, Redshirt Sophomore: Earned a share of third place carding a 209 (-4) at the Puerto Rico Classic, marking his second career top-5 finish… Appeared in two events, once in the team lineup at the Gopher Invitational … Tallied a 71 (E) in the third round of the Gopher Invitational.

4. Thomas Johnson, Redshirt Sophomore: Finished with OU’s best third-round score at the Puerto Rico Classic, shooting 69 (-2)… Tied for 21st place at the Puerto Rico Classic carding a 217 (+4) … Competing in second team event of the season.

5. Garett Reband, Sophomore: Competed as an individual at the Puerto Rico Classic, tying for third at 215 (-1)… Recorded a 70.60 scoring average during the fall season … Recorded four birdies during the final round of the Nike Collegiate Invitational and finished tied for 23rd place at 211 (-2) … Had career-best weekend at the Carmel Cup, taking third place at 203 (-13), his first top-5 finish at OU.
THE COURSE
The Southern Highlands Collegiate will be played at the par-72, 7,374-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club for all three rounds.
FORMAT
The tournament features 54-hole stroke play with the low four scores counted each round for the team total with 18 holes played each day. Individual ties will be broken by sudden-death playoff.
OU is paired with Texas Tech and Illinois. Monday’s round will begin at 11:50 a.m. CT.
WEATHER FORECAST
Monday: Sunny with a high of 61 degrees and wind from the north-northeast at 8 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny with a high of 65 degrees and wind from the northeast at 6 mph.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a high of 70 degrees and wind from the east-northeast at 5 mph.
OU’S Southern highlands collegiate HISTORY
This marks the Sooners’ sixth consecutive appearance in the tournament. The Sooners’ last played the event in 2017 when OU placed seventh with a three-round 286 (-2). Grant Hirschman competed as an individual finishing in share of first place carding a three-round total of 210 (-6). OU’s best finish came in 2015, taking second place.
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring is available on GolfStat.com.<http://scoring.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=13878>

Sooner women resume play after record breaking week

NORMAN – Coming off of a record-breaking win at the Westbrook Invitational, No. 18 Oklahoma women’s golf returns to action Monday at the Hurricane Invitational. The Sooners are one of 13 teams to compete in the event, held at the par-72, 6,150-yard Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Fla.

The 54-hole, three-day event tees off Monday at 6:30 a.m. CT.

Oklahoma is coming off of its first tournament win since 2014, clinching the Westbrook Invitational title last week in Peoria, Ariz. The Sooners finished the tournament with a program-record three-round score of 839 (-25). OU won the 15-team event behind freshman Kaitlin Milligan, who finished in second place with a 54-hole total of 199 (-17) – the lowest individual tournament score in OU history. A Norman native, Milligan opened the event with a 62 (-10) in the first round, marking the lowest 18-hole score in program history (previous low was 65), the best in Big 12 history and the lowest in NCAA Division I women’s golf this season.

“We’re excited to get back to playing so quickly,” said OU head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell. “This is a quick turnaround from our last event and we will look to carry over momentum from last week. We showed a great mindset in Arizona and will need to continue that this week.”

Rejoining the Oklahoma lineup is junior Julienne Soo. The Australian native will be competing in her first collegiate event of the spring, missing last week’s Westbrook Invitational while participating in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Golf Championship in Singapore. Soo has four top-10 finishes this season and is averaging a team-best stroke average of 71.0.

The Sooners are joined in the field by Barry, Coastal Carolina, Florida International, Kentucky, Maryland, Mercer, No. 23 Miami, Middle Tennessee, Penn State, South Dakota State, South Florida and Virginia Tech.

Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com.

OU Lineup:

5. Kaitlin Milligan, freshman: At the Westbrook Invitational, shot a 54-hole total of 199 (-17) – the lowest individual tournament score in OU history – to finish in second…The freshman had opened the event with a 62 (-10) in Sunday’s first round, marking the lowest 18-hole score in program history (previous low was 65), the best in Big 12 history and the lowest in NCAA Division I women’s golf this season…In just her third tournament in the lineup…Finished in a tie for 13th with a 214 (+1) at the Battle at the Beach…Tied for 16th at the Schooner Fall Classic with a 1-under (212)…The first OU freshman to earn a top-20 finish since current seniors Ana Ruiz and Hannah Wood in 2014.
6. Ana Ruiz, senior: Coming off of back-to-back top-10 finishes…Took eighth place at the Westbrook Invitational with a 210 (-6) in her fifth career top-10 finish…Secured sixth place with a 210 (-3) in Battle at the Beach…Opened the season with a score of 212 (-1) to tie for 18th at the Jim West Challenge…Owns 10 career top-20 finishes and five top-10 finishes.
7. Hannah Wood, senior: Picked up her 20th career top-20 finish by placing 20th at the Westbrook Invitational…Named Big 12 Co-Golfer of the Month in November after leading the Sooners to a second-place finish in the Battle at the Beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Nov. 3-5) in the team’s only November tournament…Shot a 4-under 209 in Cabo to tie for fourth place and secure her second top-10 finish of the fall season…Earned sixth place at the 2017 Schooner Fall Classic while playing as an individual…Shot a 209 (-4) in the Schooner.
8. Julienne Soo, junior: Captured her fourth top-10 finish of the year, tying for sixth at Battle at the Beach with a 210 (-3) to close the fall portion of the schedule…Tied for ninth place with a 2-under 214 at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational…Named the Big 12 Women’s Golfer of the Month for the month of September after recording two top-10 finishes and shooting under par in five of six rounds…Her 204 (-9) at the season-opening Jim West Challenge is the third-lowest 54-hole score in program history .Secured ninth place at the Schooner Fall Classic with a 3-under 210…Dating back to last season, has finished at par or better in 31 of her last 48 rounds…Boasts 10 top-10 finishes in her career, all of which have come in her last 15 tournaments.
9. Rylee Pedigo, senior: Her fourth start of the season…Clinched 49th at Battle at the Beach with a 224 (+11)…Competed in nine of 11 team events last season, finishing with a 75.56 (+3.67) stroke average…Fired a season-best 216 (E) to share 13th at the 2017 Florida State Match Up, highlighted by a career-best 67 (-5) in the final round…Owns four career top-20 finishes and two top-10 finishes…Claimed second place in the 2016 Clover Cup after shooting 211 (-5).

Individual Competitor – Valerie Tanguay, senior: Tied a career-low round score of 69 (-2) in the second round of the season-opening Jim West Challenge…Tied for 26th at the Jim West Challenge with a 216 (+3)… Has finished in the top 20 of both previous Schooner Fall Classic appearances, taking 17th in 2016 (213, even) and tying for 19th in 2015 (143, +1)…Played in all 11 team events last season, putting together a 73.42 (+1.52) season-stroke average…Owns seven career top-20 finishes, including one ninth-place finish.