The Texas women’s golf team finished 10th Monday at the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma. The Longhorns failed to maintain their success from recent years at the Belmar Golf Club, finishing second to last at the tournament this season.
Before the tournament Thursday, Texas head coach Ryan Murphy said the team was happy to play in an event for the first time together since the season was canceled in March.
“We’re going up there to try and win the tournament as a team, but my mind is on individual play, and particularly those freshman,” Murphy said.
The squad was unable to come from behind in order to win the tournament. The team won the Schooner Fall Classic last year despite being one stroke behind Oklahoma entering round three.
As the Longhorns seek their fourth consecutive Big 12 Conference Championship, they will look to garner their top-three in the nation dominance from last year’s fall season.
After a historic performance from Baylor Sunday and Monday, with three of its players finishing within the top five individually, the Longhorns would have needed a near perfect final two rounds to place first and overcome the Bears. Only four total players in the tournament shot under-par, two of which were in Baylor’s lineup.
Senior Kaitlyn Papp led the team with a third-place finish in last year’s Schooner Fall Classic, but she was not in the lineup beginning Sunday for the Longhorns.
Senior Agatha Laisne and junior Sara Kouskova, the two Europeans on the team, won’t join the team until the start of the spring season, Murphy said. Laisne is a tough loss for the Longhorns, as she was named to the preseason watchlist for the ANNIKA Award on Thursday.
Due to a lack of roster depth right now, the lineup consisted of freshmen Bentley Cotton and Ashley Park, who finished eight-over par and 21-one-over-par, respectively.
“We’re kind of fragmented right now,” Murphy said. “My Europeans are still in Europe. We weren't sure we were going to play officially until we got well into August, so I didn't want to bring my Europeans over here knowing that we could potentially cancel the fall season so that gives some younger (players) some opportunity.”
Sophomore Sophie Guo stood out for the Longhorns with the highest individual finish on the team, shooting seven-over-par and tying for 15th overall. Guo was tied for 31st after round one and tied for 16th after round two.
The squad was in ninth place after the first round with a score of 294 behind junior Hailee Cooper and Cotton’s two-over-par finishes, but the Longhorns fell to last place after the completion of day one. Due to high winds, the last five scheduled holes on day one were postponed to day two.
Next, Texas will compete in the Betsy Rawls Invitational on Oct. 10-11 and look to emulate last season's record performance by capturing the event for the fourth year in a row.
