Texas women get first title of season at Schooner Fall Classic

After opening its season with a third-place finish at the Annika Intercollegiate two weeks ago, Texas got over the hump quickly. The Longhorns, playing much closer to home this week at the Schooner Fall Classic, went 2 under for 54 holes to top Alabama by nine shots and win the event.

Texas was the only team under par at Belmar Golf Club in Norman, Okla., and started the day trailing the host team by five. The Sooners, immediately started going the wrong direction, however, finishing with a 16-over 296 in the final round to fall six spots into seventh.

Texas held steady on a day when no team was going particularly low. An even-par 280 in the final round was enough to keep the Longhorns at 2 under and ahead of Alabama. Mississippi State (third) and Florida State (T-5) made the biggest moves up the leaderboard with round of 3-under 277.

The individual title was split between Illinois’ Tristyn Nowlin, an Augusta National Women’s Amateur invitee last year, and Florida State’s Frida Kinhult, who spent time earlier this year as the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Nowlin climbed 10 spots up the leaderboard with a final-round 67. Mississippi State freshman Ashley Gilliam climbed 22 spots higher with her final-round 65, which played a huge role in the Bulldogs’ final-round bump.

As for the winning team, four players finished the week inside the top 16, led by Kaitlyn Papp’s T-3 finish individually at 2 under.