Mueller's Birdie Run Lifts OU Pair Into Top Five

Aug. 4, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma golfers Ellen Mueller and Taylor Schmidt climbed into the top five of the Hooters Women's Collegiate Team Championship at Achasta by Reynolds in Dahlonega, Ga., after a late birdie run on the back nine of Wednesday's best ball format. Mueller strung together five birdies in her final six holes to bring the OU pair's second-round score to a 7-under 65.

Mueller, a senior, and Schmidt, a sophomore, entered the day in a tie for eighth place at even par after a first-round score of 72 on Tuesday, alternating every shot. The pair's stellar performance late in the round Wednesday lifted them into a tie for fifth place.

“Compared to yesterday, we had a slower start,” said Mueller. “But all in all, we both played really solid today.”

Under the best ball format, teams of two play their own ball and use the lower of the two scores on each hole.

“Playing best ball definitely called for more strategy,” explained Mueller. “If one of us were to par a hole, the other would be able to play more aggressive to possibly pull off a birdie.”

“The key to getting low scores in best ball is to take full advantage of the format and get as many birdies as possible,” said OU head coach Veronique Drouin from Norman. “Ellen and Taylor played awesome today. After talking to the girls, it sounds like their putters got really hot on the back nine.”

In Tuesday's alternate-shot first round, the Sooner duo started its round at 2-under after two holes. Mueller and Schmidt weren't so fortunate Wednesday afternoon, as they were unable to make key birdie putts early. Despite settling for pars on most of the front nine, the Sooners stayed positive as they made the turn.

“Yesterday we made two birdies right away,” said Schmidt. “It felt like we were protecting our score the rest of the day by making par. Today we were both a lot more comfortable out there. We made some pars early on and were barely missing our putts. We stayed calm and knew those birdies would come to us later in the round.”

And those birdies came. Five on the last six holes, to be exact. Mueller credited her impressive string of birdies to the Sooners' ability to learn from their mistakes on the green earlier in the day and better read their putts.

“We were placing our shots well all day but the greens weren't turning like we hoped and we couldn't get our putts to fall,” the senior said. “After we made the turn, we really began to get a better feel for the greens and finally started making some birdies.”

The Sooners credited their success to the support shown by the crowd of OU fans at the event.

The gallery of Sooner supporters and Atlanta-based OU alumni gave Mueller and Schmidt the largest fan backing of the 53 teams.

“Having such a great crowd there was really exciting,” said Mueller. “It was really fun to hear their reaction after making a birdie or sinking a long putt. It felt great to entertain our fans that came out to support us in the heat. We definitely fed off of their energy.”

The Sooners trail the frontrunners Brooke Pancake and Jennifer Kirby of the University of Alabama by four strokes heading into Thursday's final round. The format will combine the scores of both golfers, leaving no room for error.

“We've both been playing really solid this week. I don't see tomorrow being any problem for us,” said Mueller.

The OU pair will tee off Thursday morning at 9:39 EST on the first hole. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.