Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Travel To Lawrence For Big 12 Action
April 26, 2012 | Cowgirl Golf
April 26, 2012
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State's women's golf team will look to capture its eighth Big 12 title when it begins play at the Big 12 Championship this week at Lawrence Country Club in Lawrence, Kan.
The 54-hole event begins on Friday and will run through Sunday with 18 holes being played each day at the par-70, 6,510-yard layout. The Cowgirls enter the event as the No. 2 seed and will be paired with top-seeded Texas A&M. First-round action is slated to get underway at 8 a.m.
First-year head coach Alan Bratton has led the Cowgirls to a pair of victories and a No. 17 ranking in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.
OSU's lineup will be led by junior Kelsey Vines, who currently stands as the top-ranked player in the Big 12 at No. 21 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. The BYU transfer has a pair of individual victories to her credit with wins at the Windy City Invitational and the BYU at Entrada Classic.
Joining Vines in the lineup will be sophomore Jayde Panos, senior Jocelyn Alford, sophomore Amy Ruengmateekhun and freshman Courtney Ferguson.
The Cowgirls have seven Big 12 crowns to their credit with their most recent coming in 2009 at The Rawls Course in Lubbock, Texas. OSU first won the event in 1999 in Boulder, Colo. The Cowgirls then reeled off three consecutive championships starting with their victory in 2001 in Harvester, Iowa. After winning the 2002 tourney in Manhattan, Kan., OSU closed out its string with its triumph in Columbia, Mo. in 2003. The Cowgirls won the 2005 title in Austin, Texas before claiming the 2008 title on their home course, Karsten Creek, in Stillwater.
OSU has been as successful in the individual Big 12 race as it has been in the team race, having seven players claim medalist honors during the history of the event. In 1999, Maria Bodén became the first Cowgirl to win the event and regained the title in 2001. Emma Zackrisson grabbed top honors in 2002, while Annie Thurman followed two years later with back-to-back victories in 2004 and 2005. Jaclyn Sweeney won the event in 2008 before Caroline Hedwall took top honors in 2010 to become the school's most recent champion.
