Freshman Golfer Collins Shines in Sooner Debut

Sept. 12, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. – She's only played 18 holes in a University of Oklahoma uniform, but freshman Emily Collins has already begun to turn heads in the OU women's golf team's season-opening event -- the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C. The Colleyville, Texas, native shot a 71 (-1) Sunday in her first round as a Sooner to finish the day tied for fourth place out of 110 competitors.

Collins' score contributed to an overall solid performance by the Sooners, who carded a 293 (+5) at the par-72 Yeamans Hall Country Club. Oklahoma is tied for fifth place out of 21 teams with two rounds remaining.

“The girls played very well today,” said OU head coach Veronique Drouin. “They came out and played very strong golf, especially for their first round of the season. I'm very proud of how we played and we will be sticking to our game plan tomorrow.”

Collins' round began a bit shakily and she found herself at +4 after her first 12 holes. Determined to rebound, the freshman stepped up her short game and was lights out the remainder of the round as she collected birdies on five of the final six holes -- two of them on par 3's.

“Emily played awesome on the back nine,” said Drouin. “She was making everything.”

Collins was recently named No. 9 in Golfweek's preseason list of the nation's top freshmen, and was also honored this summer by being named Golfweek's Junior Golfer of the Week.

"I'm glad my first college round was under par and I was able to help contribute to the team," said Collins. "It felt really good to end the round on three straight birdies."

OU also saw low scores from veterans Ellen Mueller and Taylor Schmidt, who finished with a 73 (+1) and a 74 (+2), respectively. Mueller is tied for 16th place while Schmidt is tied for 27th.

Freshmen Anne-Catherine Tanguay (75) and Chirapat Jao-Javanil (76) are tied for 38th and 54th place, respectively.

All five Sooners finished under the field's average score of 76.45.

As a team, the Sooners trail leader North Carolina by eight strokes and are only four shots behind second-place Minnesota.

Drouin hopes that her squad can capitalize on its strong position and climb closer to first.

“I think the girls need to be patient with their putting and let the putts fall,” said the second-year OU head coach. “We all have an individual plan and look to stick to it this next round.”

The Sooners will tee off Monday morning starting at 8:39 CT. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.