Tulsa to host Dale McNamara Invitational at Golf Club of Oklahoma
TULSA, Okla. –– The Dale McNamara Invitational, hosted by The University of Tulsa, returns after a three-year absence Monday and Tuesday.
Named for TU golf coaching legend Dale McNamara, the event will be played at the par-72, 6,200-yard Golf Club of Oklahoma course, located in Broken Arrow, Okla., a suburb of Tulsa. The 54-hole tournament will have two rounds of 18 holes played on Monday and the final 18 holes will be played on Tuesday. It will be a shotgun start beginning at 8:30 a.m. on both Monday and Tuesday.
The 13-team field includes: BYU, Fresno State, Kansas State, Lamar, Nebraska, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, SMU, Texas State, UNLV, UTSA and host Tulsa.
McNamara coached 26 years at The University of Tulsa and took the golf program from the ground floor to national prominence, winning four national championships. Her first national crown came at the 1980 AIW National Championship. McNamara’s 1982 team won the final AIAW Championship, while winning the first-ever NCAA Championship that same season. Led by individual champion and daughter Melissa, Tulsa’s 1988 team captured the school’s fourth national golf title and second NCAA crown.
McNamara retired from coaching following the 1999-2000 season after winning 81 tournament titles and coaching 28 first- or second-team All-Americans.
The Dale McNamara Invitational is the 22nd regular season collegiate golf tournament that Tulsa has hosted since the inception of the women’s golf program in 1974-75. It’s the seventh Dale McNamara Invitational. In the previous 21 Tulsa-hosted tournaments the Golden Hurricane has won 10 titles.
The last Dale McNamara Invitational was played in the spring of 2018 as Oklahoma State claimed the team title at the par-70 Tulsa Country Club course. This is the second Dale McNamara Invitational held at the Golf Club of Oklahoma. The last came in 2012 as Arizona State won the team championship.
As a team, Tulsa has played in two early tournaments this season, placing sixth at the Sam Golden Invitational and 11th at the Schooner Fall Classic. Tulsa junior Lilly Thomas has posted a team-best 70.7 stroke average and had a career-best 9-under par score for a seventh-place performance at the Sam Golden Invitational
Lorena Tseng, who has turned in 17 top-10 finishes in her career, has tallied a 71.0 stroke average thru six rounds this season.
Tulsa will play all eight student-athletes at this event, including five as part of the team scoring and three playing as individuals. In addition to Thomas and Tseng, freshman Lovisa Gunnar, senior Haley Greb, and freshman Sydney Seigel will be a part of team scoring.
Sophomore Tita Loudtragulngam and newcomers Sophie Johnson and Hanna Robinett will play as individuals.
Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.