AUSTIN – Oklahoma women's golf surged in the final round to secure a third-place finish among a 16-team field at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational on Tuesday at the University of Texas Golf Club.
The Sooners (3, +40) closed with the low round of the tournament, firing a 3-under 285 to climb the leaderboard and earn their fifth top-three finish of the season. Oklahoma's final-round 285 was one of just two rounds under par in the 54-hole event.
OU opened with rounds of 318-301 on Monday before responding with its strongest performance of the week in Tuesday's final round.
"I'm proud of the way we finished the tournament today," head coach
Veronique Drouin-Luttrell said. "We were able to post our best round of the week in the final round, which shows the team stayed patient and continued to compete. This was a strong field and a great opportunity for us to keep building momentum this spring."
Senior
Gracie Mayo paced the Sooners, tying for sixth at 6-over after rounds of 79-76-67. Mayo's final-round 67 (-5) matched Oklahoma's low round of the tournament and featured a 32 on the back nine. The round marked her second 67 of the season.
Savannah Barber tied for seventh at 7-over (82-70-71), bouncing back from an opening-round 82 with back-to-back under-par rounds, including a 2-under 70 in Monday's second round.
Audrey Rischer added a top-15 showing, tying for 15th at 12-over (79-74-75), while
Reagan Chaney tied for 35th at 21-over (78-87-72), highlighted by an even-par final round.
True freshman Earn Thiensgri rounded out the lineup in a tie for 54th at 28-over. Fellow freshmen
Meg Tilma and
Ellison Lundquist competed unattached, finishing tied for 35th and 60th, respectively.
No. 7 Texas, the host of the annual event, claimed the team title at 14-over, followed by No. 9 Arkansas at 35-over. Oklahoma finished ahead of LSU (+47) and No. 10 Pepperdine (+50) to round out the top five.
The Sooners return to action April 6-7 at the Veritex Bank Challenge in Dallas.
For the latest on Oklahoma Women's Golf, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram at @OU_WGolf and like Oklahoma Women's Golf on Facebook. To support the program, consider joining the Red Tee Club — a group committed to elevating Sooner golf.