Thackeray, SWOSU lead after first round of UCO Classic at Golf Club of Edmond
EDMOND, Okla. – Behind Chloe Thackeray’s tournament-leading 3-under-par 68, Southwestern OSU has a one-shot lead over Northeastern State University after day one of the UCO Classic at the Golf Club of Edmond.
Elin Wahlinand Veronika de Bochdanovits followed Thackeray, as Wahlin finished tied for third with a 72 and de Bochdanovits turned in a 75 to end day one tied for 17th.
Northeastern State matched its lowest round of the season and sits in second place on Monday at the UCO Classic. The RiverHawks carded a 296 with Kelsey Lumpkin shooting a 1-over, 72, matching a mark the senior set during her freshman season. Lumpkin is tied for third and five shots back of the overall lead.
Ebba Moberg is a shot behind Lumpkin tied for eighth. Aitana Hernandez had a 75, which landed the freshman tied for 17th place, and Lexi Armon was a shot behind tied for 24th place Nina Lee carded an 81 to round out the NSU starting five and is tied for 46th place.
The Rogers State women’s golf team along with sophomore Jess Whitting sit in third place. The Hillcats are third out of 17 teams, and Whitting is third out of 94 golfers.
The Perth, Australia native opened the tournament with a 1-over-par 72 on the 6,021-yard, par-71 course. Whitting totaled two birdies on the front nine along with a first-hole bogey to rank at 1-under-par early in the round. She was 1-under until three straight bogeys late, but she bounced back with a birdie on No. 18 for the 1-over-par score.
Sophomore Jessica Green and junior Mariana Flores rank tied for 17th with first-round marks of 4-over-par 75. Junior Sydney Murray was one shot back of Green and Flores at 5-over-par 76 to tie for 24th. F
Freshman Faith Stewart shot a 2-over-par 73 to lead host Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos are fifth in the 17-team tournament after opening with a 304 at the 6,021-yard, par-71 Golf Club of Edmond. Southwestern Oklahoma leads the field at 295, followed by Northeastern State (296), Rogers State (298), Arkansas Tech (299) and UCO.
Final-round play begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday with a shotgun start.
Stewart’s 73 has her tied for eighth in the individual standings. UCO also got a 76 from Sydney Roberts, while Madison O’Dell shot 77, Makena Mucciaccio 78 and Yuna Sato 85.
“Faith didn’t make a lot of mistakes and really played well today,” head coach Michael Bond said. “It wasn’t a bad start, but we left some shots out there and have some ground to make up tomorrow.”