University of North Texas Athletics
Thursday, May 20
Whirlwind Golf Club at Wildhorse Pass / Chandler, Ariz.
University of North Texas
vs
Let Them Play Classic
UNT In Lead After Day 1 At Let Them Play Classic
5/20/2021 7:44:00 PM | Women's Golf
CHANDLER, Ariz. - The North Texas women's golf team is in first place after two rounds on Thursday at the Let Them Play Classic at Whirlwind Golf Club, the tournament that has gained national attention in the last week after it was formed by Barstool Sports' Sam "Riggs" Bozoian following the cancellation of the NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge last week.
The 37th-ranked Mean Green are in the clubhouse at 10-under par following back-to-back 211s and are seven shots up 29th-ranked Houston and 44th-ranked Purdue, who are tied for second at 3-under. The Mean Green were led by senior Lauren Cox and junior Audrey Tan in both rounds Thursday - the first played on the Cattail course and the second played on Devil's Claw.
"We started off slow this morning, but Lauren and Audrey had nine combined birdies on the back-nine," UNT head coach Michael Akers said. "We really moved up the leaderboard. The second 18 was tough. We played a different course this afternoon, and the wind came up. The ladies managed the course very well. We are right where we want to be and look forward to managing the course tomorrow."
Cox, the nation's 49th-ranked player, opened the first round by going 1-over on the front-nine before firing a 5-under 31 on the back-nine to finish with a 4-under 68. Her eight birdies in the opening round were the most in the field and also were enough to give her the all-time, single-season program record for birdies in a season, which previously stood at 85 by Randi Gautier in 2002-03. Cox had 78 entering the tournament. She shot a 2-under 70 with three more birdies in the second round at Devil's Claw. Her 11 birdies are the most in the field through two rounds. Cox is 6-under for the tournament and in second place - two shots back of leader Ariana Saenz of Houston.
Tan, who led the Mean Green to their first conference championship in program history last month and also claimed the program's first individual conference championship, shot a 69-70 and is 5-under and in third place heading into Friday's final round, which will be back on the Cattail course beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The scoring for the tournament is different than most, as only the top three scores for each team are counted instead of the usual four. That move was made to allow more teams to be able to compete in the tournament, as some teams were only able to send three players.
In Round 1, junior Katie Finley was the third counted score for the Mean Green after she shot a 2-over 74, and sophomore Emilie Ricaud shot a 1-under 71 in Round 2 to be the team's third counting score. The second round saw the Mean Green card the field's best score, as they were one of only two teams to break par at 5-under. That round allowed them to pass Purdue and Houston on the leaderboard after neither team was able to break par.
Fans can follow the final round live on Golfstat and also keep up with the team on Twitter.Â
Team Leaderboard
(Through 36 holes)
1. No. 37 North Texas (-10)
T2. No. 29 Houston (-3)
T2. No. 44 Purdue (-3)
4. No. 42 Mississippi State (+1)
5. No. 32 Oregon State (+12)
6. No. 47 Tulsa (+13)
7. East Tennessee State (+19)
8. Jacksonville State (+20)
9. No. 50 Sam Houston State (+26)
10. Quinnipiac (+30)
Player Leaderboard
2. Lauren Cox (-6)
3. Audrey Tan (-5)
T18. Emilie Ricaud (+4)
T22. Patricia Sinolungan (+5)
T27. Shreya Pal (+7)
T36. Katie Finley (+10)
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The 37th-ranked Mean Green are in the clubhouse at 10-under par following back-to-back 211s and are seven shots up 29th-ranked Houston and 44th-ranked Purdue, who are tied for second at 3-under. The Mean Green were led by senior Lauren Cox and junior Audrey Tan in both rounds Thursday - the first played on the Cattail course and the second played on Devil's Claw.
"We started off slow this morning, but Lauren and Audrey had nine combined birdies on the back-nine," UNT head coach Michael Akers said. "We really moved up the leaderboard. The second 18 was tough. We played a different course this afternoon, and the wind came up. The ladies managed the course very well. We are right where we want to be and look forward to managing the course tomorrow."
Cox, the nation's 49th-ranked player, opened the first round by going 1-over on the front-nine before firing a 5-under 31 on the back-nine to finish with a 4-under 68. Her eight birdies in the opening round were the most in the field and also were enough to give her the all-time, single-season program record for birdies in a season, which previously stood at 85 by Randi Gautier in 2002-03. Cox had 78 entering the tournament. She shot a 2-under 70 with three more birdies in the second round at Devil's Claw. Her 11 birdies are the most in the field through two rounds. Cox is 6-under for the tournament and in second place - two shots back of leader Ariana Saenz of Houston.
Tan, who led the Mean Green to their first conference championship in program history last month and also claimed the program's first individual conference championship, shot a 69-70 and is 5-under and in third place heading into Friday's final round, which will be back on the Cattail course beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The scoring for the tournament is different than most, as only the top three scores for each team are counted instead of the usual four. That move was made to allow more teams to be able to compete in the tournament, as some teams were only able to send three players.
In Round 1, junior Katie Finley was the third counted score for the Mean Green after she shot a 2-over 74, and sophomore Emilie Ricaud shot a 1-under 71 in Round 2 to be the team's third counting score. The second round saw the Mean Green card the field's best score, as they were one of only two teams to break par at 5-under. That round allowed them to pass Purdue and Houston on the leaderboard after neither team was able to break par.
Fans can follow the final round live on Golfstat and also keep up with the team on Twitter.Â
Team Leaderboard
(Through 36 holes)
1. No. 37 North Texas (-10)
T2. No. 29 Houston (-3)
T2. No. 44 Purdue (-3)
4. No. 42 Mississippi State (+1)
5. No. 32 Oregon State (+12)
6. No. 47 Tulsa (+13)
7. East Tennessee State (+19)
8. Jacksonville State (+20)
9. No. 50 Sam Houston State (+26)
10. Quinnipiac (+30)
Player Leaderboard
2. Lauren Cox (-6)
3. Audrey Tan (-5)
T18. Emilie Ricaud (+4)
T22. Patricia Sinolungan (+5)
T27. Shreya Pal (+7)
T36. Katie Finley (+10)
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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