Arkansas Golf Fact Sheet #4

Arkansas Golf Fact Sheet #4 – Peg Barnard InvitationalThe Peg Barnard InvitationalArkansas goes West this weekend for the Peg Barnard Invitational hosted by Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. The short turn-around between the Mercedes and the Peg is followed up with a two-week break before the final fall event – the Hooters Match Play Championship Nov. 3-5.
Last fall event?That’s right. The fall has nearly come and gone for the Lady Razorbacks. Arkansas competes at the Hooters Match Play Championship in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 3-5, in their final event before the holidays.
The FieldArkansas is scheduled to take on Arizona, California, Duke, Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon, Oregon State, San Jose State, Stanford, Tulsa, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Washington and Washington State this week.
More about the PegSouthern California is the defending champion winning last year’s Peg with a rain-shortened 588. USC’s Irene Cho captured medalist honors with a 127.
Haven’t I seen you before?Yes, as a matter of fact. The Lady’Backs have faced have the field in either of the first two events. Arkansas is seeing New Mexico, Oregon, Oregon State, San Jose State, Tulsa, Washington and Washington State for the first time this year. The Lady’Backs face Vanderbilt and Georgia for the second time this year.
Arkansas at the PegThis is the Lady’Backs first appearance at the Peg Barnard Invitational. In fact, the Lady Razorbacks really don’t get out West much. This is just the fourth time in school history Arkansas has competed in an event in California. The most recent was at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif., last year. Prior to that — 1998-99.
Best Finish of the YearArkansas finished fourth at last week’s Mercedes Benz Collegiate Classic was the best of the year and their team score of 894 was also a season best. In fact, the 894 team total ranks tied for eighth all-time for lowest Lady’Back scores.
Best Finish Part IIIn addition to the team’s top finish of the year, several Lady Razorbacks posted season-bests as well. Junior Stacy Lewis was tied for fifth as a season-best. Sophomore Lucy Nunn’s 13th place showing was both a season and career best as did Corinna Rees with a tie for 48th.
Start to finishArkansas junior Stacy Lewis has not started the first three tournaments the way she would have liked. Her first round scoring average is 77.0 and ranks 350th out of 2861 collegiate golfers. But look out for Louie in the final round. Lewis is averaging 70.50 ranking fourth among collegiate golfers.
The Mercedes evens out the rankingsArkansas finished ahead of several higher-ranked teams at the Mercedes Benz Classic and has moved up the rankings as a result. Arkansas banked on their early-season schedule being strong and helping them move up if they could finish well. View the jump in the polls with a critical eye, however, as it usually takes several weeks for teams to play enough events with enough quality opponents for the polls to shake out.
Who’s making the trip?Arkansas head coach Kelley Hester takes the same lineup from the Mercedes to the Peg. Stacy Lewis, Ashley Medders, Lucy Nunn, Alex Schulte and Corinna Rees all make the trip this week.
About the traveling fiveStacy Lewis is the top returning Lady Razorback for the 2006-07 season. A two-time National Golf Coaches Association for Women all-American and a two-time first-team all-Southeastern Conference selection, Lewis holds nearly every individual record at Arkansas. See the list to the left of this page. Lewis finished tied for 11th at the Mason Rudolph, tied for 29th at the NCAA Preview and tied for fifth at the Mercedes last week.Ashely Medders came on strong for Arkansas last year. Medders competed in nine events including the NCAA Regional and National Championships. She is the school record-holder for the lowest three-round tournament score with a 212 posted in a win at the 2006 Tyson/Embassy Suites Invitational.Lucy Nunn played in five events for Arkansas last year but had the opportunity to travel to others including the NCAA Regional and National Championships. Nunn posted a career-best finish with a 13th-place showing at the Mercedes last week.Alexandrea Schulte is one of the top recruits for Arkansas this year. She enjoyed a bit of a jump start on her Lady Razorback career competing in several summer events with her future teammates. Schulte finished tied for 15th with a career-best 223 at the Mercedes.Corinna Rees has competed in two events this year and is making her third start. The highly recruited freshman is adjusting to college life and the collegiate game and has impacted the lineup this year.
Frequent Flyer miles to the Sunshine StateArkansas should ask for frequent flyer miles to Florida. The recent trip to Florida for the NCAA Preview was the first of five trips to the Sunshine State. Arkansas also travels to the Hooters Match Play Championship (Orlando), the Central District Invitational (Parrish), the UCF Invitational (Grand Cypress) and the NCAA Championship (Daytona Beach).