Jayhawks to Compete in Second Event in a Week at the Schooner Classic
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Just two days in Lawrence is all the Kansas women’s golf team had before embarking on its third competition this season and second in less than a week. The Jayhawks will compete in the Schooner Classic, hosted by the Toby Keith Foundation and the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma at the Belmar Golf Club. Kansas will be one of 12 teams hoping to conquer the par-71, 5,901-yard course. The event will take place from September 19-21.
“This will be our first time at Belmar but from what we know the greens are fast, fairways are tight and their are varying elevations,” KU head coach Erin O’Neil said. “We will need to keep it straight off the tee and put ourselves in good position around the greens to score.”
The Kansas squad at Belmar will consist of senior Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, freshmen Ariadna Fonseca Diaz and Laine Evans and sophomores Pitsinee Winyarat and MacKenzie “Kenzie” Sexe. Kawinpakorn will try to continue her streak of five top-10 finishes going back to last season. She has placed in the top-10 21 times in her KU career. Sexe will build off a career outing at last week’s Minnesota Invitational. Competing as an individual less than an hour away from her hometown, Sexe recorded a career-low round of 77 (+5) in the third round on her way to carding a career-low 54-hole score of 238 (+22). She finished tied for 58th at the event.
“Kenzie has worked hard on improving all parts of her game since arriving on campus as a freshmen but her swing is where she has seen the biggest improvement,” O’Neil said. “She still needs to add more shots to her bag especially from inside 100 yards but she is working to make her short game one of her strengths. The more she competes in tournaments the more her short game and mental game will improve and I believe her scores will continue to drop.”
Though Kansas only had a two-day rest between travels for tournaments, many factors are working in KU’s favor to reduce fatigue.
“Fortunately, we are able to practice (Thursday) afternoon before driving down to Norman,” O’Neil said. “The quick turnaround is part of college golf. Driving in our van isn’t as taxing as flying since the players are able to sleep more comfortably or do homework. We will also arrive at a much earlier time compared to when we fly into other places. Another advantage is that this tournament format is 18 holes over three days compared to 36/18 allowing us more time to rest in between rounds.”
As mentioned by O’Neil, the Schooner Classic will take place over three days, with one round being played per day. Tee-off times each day will be at 9 a.m.
Competing alongside Kansas will be Florida State, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, host Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas State, Troy, Tulsa and University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). KU and Kansas State previously faced off at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational.
Live stats can be found at birdiefire.com.
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