April 23, 2003
Columbia, Mo. - In what turned out to be one of the most wild and crazy final rounds in recent memory, the University of Missouri women's golf squad grabbed its best finish in school history in the Big 12 Championships on Wednesday, finishing in second place. The Tigers fired a final round of 306 and a 910 for the tourney, just one stroke behind repeat-champion Oklahoma State, who shot a 304 on Wednesday and a 909 for the Championship. This marked only the second time the Big 12 Championship was decided by a one-stroke margin.
"I am extremely proud of my team," Tiger Coach Stephanie Cooper said. "They definitely poured their hearts into this tourney and this shows us what we are capable of as a team at any given tournament. I think this experience will only fuel the desire to get better and we want to continue to put ourselves in a position to win tournaments."
Several Tigers made great individual showings during the tourney and were Big 12 Medallist for their Top 10 efforts. Sophomore Mindy Bullard was rock solid throughout the entire Championship, firing rounds of 74 on Day 1, 76 on Day 2 and a blazing 73 today to finish in a tie for second place with OSU's Karin Sjodin at +7 for the tournament.
Freshman Denise Knaebel was also extremely impressive finishing in eighth place with a three-round total of 228. Senior Elin Olsson registered her fifth Top-10 performance of the season, finishing in a tie for 9th place with Baylor's Melanie Hagwood with a three-round total of 229. After firing a 74 in yesterday's round, freshman Kelli Strubinger finished in a tie for 25th with a three-round total of 236 while sophomore Maria Ohlsson finished in a tie for 33rd. After grabbing a one-stroke lead through the first 36 holes of the tournament, the Tigers and the Cowgirls played to a tie after the first nine holes of the day. The Cowgirls would then run out to a five-stroke lead early in the second nine while Mizzou struggled to hold off fast charging Texas, who climbed from 11 strokes down at one time in the final round, into a tie with the Tigers after the 12th hole for the second-place spot.
However, birdies by Knaebel, Bullard and Elin Ohlsson on the par-3, 13th hole and another birdie by Knaebel on 15th pulled the Tigers back to within two strokes of the Cowgirls while Texas fell back to 12 strokes off of the pace heading into the 16th hole. The two teams were never separated by more that two strokes during the last three holes, and the Cowgirls held a one-stroke advantage heading into the penultimate hole of the tourney. Sjodin was able to hang on to that advantage, equaling Knaebel's bogey effort on the 18th and lock up OSU's second title in as many years.
Mizzou now looks to postseason as they await confirmation on their bid to the NCAA Central Region Championships, which will be played in Lincoln, Neb., from May 8-10 at Firethorn Country Club. For more information on Missouri women's golf, log on to www.mutigers.com.
TEAM STANDINGS Pl Team 1st 2nd 3rd Total 1 Oklahoma State 309 296 304 909 2 Missouri 304 300 306 910 3 Texas 307 302 309 918 4 Oklahoma 314 305 304 923 5 Nebraska 311 307 308 926 6 Kansas State 312 310 314 936 7 Baylor 321 313 313 947 8 Texas A&M 321 306 322 949 9 Iowa State 326 312 322 960 10 Colorado 332 328 311 971 11 Kansas 325 322 326 973 12 Texas Tech 329 332 317 978
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Pl Player (School) 1st 2nd 3rd Tot 1 Sarah Sasse (NU) 74 74 72 220 2 Karin Sjodin (OSU) 77 72 74 223 Mindy Bullard (MU) 74 76 73 223 4 Christi Cano (OSU) 73 76 76 225 5 Janice Olivencia (UT) 80 74 72 226 Miranda Smith (KSU) 78 71 77 226 8 Denise Knaebel (MU) 75 74 79 228 9 Elin Ohlsson (MU) 77 76 76 229 25 Kelli Strubinger (MU) 84 74 78 236 33 Maria Ohlsson (MU) 78 78 83 239