To compete in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Oklahoma Christian University men’s golf team traveled to Las Vegas, NV., and placed 12th in the 18-team field on Sunday and Monday.
With a round-one score of 304 and a second round of 296, Oklahoma Christian ended the competition at 600, 52 behind the event’s winner.
The Eagles’ top three players, freshman Michael Robinson and sophomores Juan Pallach and Grady Neal, all tied for 53rd place out of the 96 players competing, with a score of 150 apiece.
“The first day was not what I expected,” Neal said. “But the second day I came out and just tried to do better than the previous one and thankfully it worked out.”
The tournament was originally supposed to be a three-day event, but due to windy conditions the event ended early after Monday’s round.
Sophomore Ethan Smith ended his play with a score of 155 and tied for 78th, while junior Eric Hill finished in 93rd with a final score of 163.
“I can not speak for the team, but I think they were disappointed in their play,” Neal said. “I know we all have high expectations for ourselves and I do not think we met them.”
The Eagles will play next in the Broncho Invitational in Oklahoma City, where they will try and defend their winning title from last year. The tournament will take place March 20th and 21st.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Christian women’s golf team stayed near home to play in the Diffie Ford-Lincoln Invitational at Kickingbird Golf Club in Edmond, OK.
The Lady Eagles finished the event with a team score of 613 — 316 in the first round and 297 in the second — to place fourth out of the 13 teams competing.
A duo of freshmen, Abigail Rigsby and Ashton Nemecek placed ninth and 10th respectively for Oklahoma Christian in the 86-woman field.
“I was really happy with my round on Monday,” Rigsby said. “I have never played in winds that strong before. I saw a lot of progress and improvement in my game this week.”
Rigsby had a 152 total after shooting a 77 in round one, followed by a 75 in the second, while Nemecek had 77 in the first and 76 in the second to finish with a total of 153.
Senior Allison Sell finished two shots behind Nemecek with 155 in a tie for 15th place. Behind her, sophomore Kate Goodwin boasted a total to 158 and tied for 23rd. Sophomore Elizabeth Freeman ended the competition in a tie for 38th with a total score of 162.
In addition to those competing as a team, three Lady Eagles also played in the tournament as unattached individuals.
Senior Dana Todd was the highest finisher of the unattached group with a score of 166 and a finish in 55th place. Junior Chase Lucero tied for 64th with 170 and senior Mindy Stafford ended with 186 in 82nd.
“Overall, it was a solid week and I think our team has improved a lot,” Rigsby said. “We bounced back well on Tuesday and put ourselves into contention. I think we are going to have a really good season this spring.”
The Lady Eagles will compete March 13th and 14th in the Midwestern State Invitational held in Wichita Falls, TX.
Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information office.
0
0
Be First to Comment