Sooners Host Susie Maxwell Berning Classic

NORMAN, Okla. Sixteen NCAA Division I women's golf teams will travel to Norman, Okla., this weekend to participate in the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic golf tournament hosted by OU. The two-day tournament will be played at the 6,013-yard, par-72 Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course beginning Sunday, April 9.

The lineup for the Sooners will include true freshman Kendall Dye, lone senior Amparo Gala, sophomore Kelly Jacques, junior Jaclyn Stelzer and sophomore Heather Wright. Competing individually for OU will be junior Charli Bullard, junior Megan Goodwin, sophomore Sydney Lee and redshirt freshman Staci Smoot.

“It will be good to see how everyone plays in a home tournament and it will serve as a showcase for us,” said OU head coach Carol Ludvigson. “Our goal is to win and to have an individual medalist which can be anyone out of our starting five or any one of our individuals. I think the pressure button has been pushed and we're ready to go.”

The 17-team field will include Arkansas-Little Rock, Baylor, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, SMU, Missouri State, Texas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTEP and Wichita State. With eight Big 12 schools in attendance, Ludvigson says she is ready for a good event.

“We're very excited about this tournament because there is a very strong field,” said Ludvigson. “Oklahoma State and Texas haven't been to the Susie Maxwell in a long time so it's a big deal and we are excited about them coming, as well as all of the other Big 12 schools. It will almost serve as a preview of next week's Big 12 Tournament.”

This will be the 28th edition of the tournament, named for the 1964 LPGA Rookie of the Year, three-time U.S. Open champion (including back-to-back Open victories in '72 and '73) and 1986 National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame inductee, Susie Maxwell Berning.

Both days of the tournament will feature an 8 a.m. shotgun start with the first 36 holes being played Sunday and the final 18 Monday.

“I think the course is coming around and if the weather cooperates it will be an opportunity for everyone to shoot some low scores,” said Ludvigson. “We're ready for a good tournament.”

Oklahoma has won a total of 11 Susie Maxwell tournament championships, including four consecutive titles from 2001-2004. OU also holds the team record for 54 holes (877 in 2002) and the individual record for 54 holes is 211, set by OU alum Lisa Meldrum in 2002.

The Oklahoma Lineup
Charli Bullard: Placed 86th with a 276 at last year's Susie Maxwell Berning Classic and tied for 68th with a 251 at the 2004 Susie Maxwell Berning Classic.

Kendall Dye: Tied for 11th place at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, a career-best finish ... Led the team with a 33rd-place finish at Price's Give em Five ... Shot a 228 to tie for 21st at the Mary Fossum Invitational ... With a fall-low final score of 222, finished tied for 31st after shooting three rounds of 74 at the Las Vegas Invitational... Earned five career wins, 27 top-five finishes and 34 top-10 finishes in high school.

Amparo Gala: Only senior on the squad ... Earned a career-best second-place finish at the 2004 Jeannine McHaney Invitational ... Named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team for maintaining a 4.0 GPA as a junior ... February 2004 Big 12 Golfer of the Month ... Finished in the top five in two tournaments as a freshman.

Megan Goodwin: Finished 59th after carding a 244 at the Badger Invitational ... Recorded an additional tie for 59th place at the Mary Fossum Invitational with a 240 ... Tied for 74th with a 252 at the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic in Norman.

Kelly Jacques: Finished in the top 10 in the first two fall tournaments of the season and at the “Mo” Morial Invitational, including a career-best third-place finish at the Mary Fossum Invitational ... Recorded a third career top-20 finish (T18th place) at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic ... Posted OU's second-lowest individual average (78.79) as a freshman last year... Shot a career-low round of 71 and tied for 14th at the 2004 Kent Youel Invitational.

Sydney Lee: Competing in her first collegiate tournament ... In high school was a four-time District Champion and Plyer of the Year (2001-04) and was named to the 2001 and 2002 All-District Golf Team.

Staci Smoot: Finished tied for 47th (shot a 238) at the Badger Invitational, her first collegiate tournament ... Carded a 237 (+17) and tied for 32nd at the Mary Fossum Invitational, where she posted a career-low 73 ... Selected to All-State and all-conference teams all four years in high school.

Jaclyn Stelzer: Shot a 227 and finished a career-best 14th place at the 2005 Badger Invitational ... Posted a 237 to tie for 48th at the Mary Fossum Invitational ... Carded a 235 and tied for 26th at the 2005 Big 12 Championship ... Academic All-Big 12 First Team last year.

Heather Wright: Recorded a season-best tie for 21st place at the “Mo” Morial Invitational with a 237... Opened the spring season with a 232 in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic (T40th place) ... Led the team with a tie for 37th at the Liz Murphey Classic... Posted a season-low 76 at the Las Vegas Invitational and Liz Murphey Classic... Earned a career-best fourth-place finish with a career-low 71 at the BU-Tapatio Springs Shootout last season.

Results will be posted on SoonerSports.com after each round.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Host Susie Maxwell Berning Classic

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