University of North Texas Athletics
Mean Green Competing In Let Them Play Classic
5/19/2021 9:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
DENTON - The golf world, and even golf outsiders, watched last week as a viral video of the NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge being canceled took social media by storm after three days of rain left what were deemed to be playable conditions but not "championship" conditions.
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With that announcement, the seasons, and for many players in attendance, their collegiate careers seemingly ended without ever teeing up a ball, as the top six seeds in the field and top six individuals not on one of those teams automatically advanced to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. For the other 12 teams in the field, including North Texas, it was just tough luck.
Arrangements to fly back home for the summer had been made, and super senior Lauren Cox had to come to grips with the fact her collegiate career was over before she realized it for the second straight year after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down college athletics before she and other seniors were given an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Then, along came Barstool Sports and specifically Sam Bozoian, also known as "Riggs," who is one of the biggest media voices in the golf world. He released a video on Twitter that looked similar to the video of the Baton Rouge Regional being canceled - talking from a staircase and announcing his intention to organize a last-second tournament for those 12 teams and numerous individuals whose seasons and careers were unfairly ended - with all travel expenses paid.
"I thought it was a joke," Cox said of the video that was shared last Thursday. "When I first saw his video re-enacting the NCAA director coming down the stairs, I thought it was honestly a joke. When the tournament started to come together, I was just so excited."
Now, the Let Them Play Classic is officially a go and will begin Thursday in Chandler, Arizona - a week to the day after the plan was hatched. There are 10 participating teams and several individuals. They will play 36 holes on Thursday at Whirlwind Golf Club at Wildhorse Pass - 18 on Cattail and 18 on Devil Claw. On Friday, they will conclude the tournament with 18 holes back on Cattail, and there will be a team and individual champion crowned. The tournament can be followed live on Golfstat.
"We are extremely excited to travel to Arizona and play in the Let Them Play event," said UNT head coach Michael Akers. "It is very cool to see countless people and companies step up to right a wrong. Special thank you to Barstool and Whirlwind Golf Club for all their efforts. I am so happy our players will have some finality to the season. Of course, our goal was the national championship but it seems now as if more people are talking about the Let Them Play event than Nationals. I know the media attention at Whirlwind will be very strong. It gives us a chance to tell our story and for people to see how strong of a program we have. It will certainly help in recruiting."
In order to accommodate teams that could only send a limited number of players, the tournament will be scored by taking the top three scores of each round instead of the usual top four. The field will include North Texas, Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Purdue, Tulsa, Houston, Sam Houston State, East Tennessee State and Quinnipiac, while individuals from South Alabama, East Carolina and South Dakota State will also compete. UNT will be represented by Cox, Audrey Tan, Patricia Sinolungan, Emilie Ricaud, Katie Finley and Shreya Pal.
The Mean Green were nearing the end of the best season in program history in Baton Rouge when they were trying to advance to the national championship. They entered the tournament ranked No. 38 as the 10-seed and were coming off the first conference championship in program history, while Tan also won the first individual conference championship in program history.
"It was very unexpected and almost too good to be true," Tan said, "so for it to actually happen is just incredible. I am really looking forward to being a part of this iconic event with everybody one more time. It has been very crazy. There have been a lot of uncertainties, but I couldn't be more grateful for this opportunity. I'm so thankful that we are able to have a different ending to our incredible season."
It's extra special for someone like Cox, who now gets closure to her college career and knows her last event as a college golfer will be with her team. While she plans on trying to earn professional status in the fall at qualifying school, she said she will cherish her time at North Texas and will soak everything in on this final trip with her teammates at the Whirlwind resort.
"It's so exciting to go and experience my last college tournament with the team," Cox said. "Playing with my teammates in competition is something special and something I will definitely miss.Â
"The past week didn't go anything like we thought it would. It didn't really hit me until after the drive home (from Baton Rouge) that it was my last event. I honestly thought they came out on those steps to tell us they were sending us out to play on the last day. We owe Riggs from Barstool so many thanks because he decided to put the tournament together last minute, which is not easy."
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With that announcement, the seasons, and for many players in attendance, their collegiate careers seemingly ended without ever teeing up a ball, as the top six seeds in the field and top six individuals not on one of those teams automatically advanced to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. For the other 12 teams in the field, including North Texas, it was just tough luck.
Arrangements to fly back home for the summer had been made, and super senior Lauren Cox had to come to grips with the fact her collegiate career was over before she realized it for the second straight year after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down college athletics before she and other seniors were given an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Then, along came Barstool Sports and specifically Sam Bozoian, also known as "Riggs," who is one of the biggest media voices in the golf world. He released a video on Twitter that looked similar to the video of the Baton Rouge Regional being canceled - talking from a staircase and announcing his intention to organize a last-second tournament for those 12 teams and numerous individuals whose seasons and careers were unfairly ended - with all travel expenses paid.
"I thought it was a joke," Cox said of the video that was shared last Thursday. "When I first saw his video re-enacting the NCAA director coming down the stairs, I thought it was honestly a joke. When the tournament started to come together, I was just so excited."
Now, the Let Them Play Classic is officially a go and will begin Thursday in Chandler, Arizona - a week to the day after the plan was hatched. There are 10 participating teams and several individuals. They will play 36 holes on Thursday at Whirlwind Golf Club at Wildhorse Pass - 18 on Cattail and 18 on Devil Claw. On Friday, they will conclude the tournament with 18 holes back on Cattail, and there will be a team and individual champion crowned. The tournament can be followed live on Golfstat.
"We are extremely excited to travel to Arizona and play in the Let Them Play event," said UNT head coach Michael Akers. "It is very cool to see countless people and companies step up to right a wrong. Special thank you to Barstool and Whirlwind Golf Club for all their efforts. I am so happy our players will have some finality to the season. Of course, our goal was the national championship but it seems now as if more people are talking about the Let Them Play event than Nationals. I know the media attention at Whirlwind will be very strong. It gives us a chance to tell our story and for people to see how strong of a program we have. It will certainly help in recruiting."
In order to accommodate teams that could only send a limited number of players, the tournament will be scored by taking the top three scores of each round instead of the usual top four. The field will include North Texas, Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Purdue, Tulsa, Houston, Sam Houston State, East Tennessee State and Quinnipiac, while individuals from South Alabama, East Carolina and South Dakota State will also compete. UNT will be represented by Cox, Audrey Tan, Patricia Sinolungan, Emilie Ricaud, Katie Finley and Shreya Pal.
The Mean Green were nearing the end of the best season in program history in Baton Rouge when they were trying to advance to the national championship. They entered the tournament ranked No. 38 as the 10-seed and were coming off the first conference championship in program history, while Tan also won the first individual conference championship in program history.
"It was very unexpected and almost too good to be true," Tan said, "so for it to actually happen is just incredible. I am really looking forward to being a part of this iconic event with everybody one more time. It has been very crazy. There have been a lot of uncertainties, but I couldn't be more grateful for this opportunity. I'm so thankful that we are able to have a different ending to our incredible season."
It's extra special for someone like Cox, who now gets closure to her college career and knows her last event as a college golfer will be with her team. While she plans on trying to earn professional status in the fall at qualifying school, she said she will cherish her time at North Texas and will soak everything in on this final trip with her teammates at the Whirlwind resort.
"It's so exciting to go and experience my last college tournament with the team," Cox said. "Playing with my teammates in competition is something special and something I will definitely miss.Â
"The past week didn't go anything like we thought it would. It didn't really hit me until after the drive home (from Baton Rouge) that it was my last event. I honestly thought they came out on those steps to tell us they were sending us out to play on the last day. We owe Riggs from Barstool so many thanks because he decided to put the tournament together last minute, which is not easy."
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Players Mentioned
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