No. 14 Women's Golf Heads to South Carolina

NORMAN - Coming off its second win of the spring, No. 14 Oklahoma women's golf is set to tee off for its final tournament of the regular season in the Clemson Invitational. The Sooners begin the three-day tournament on Friday at the 6,260-yard, par-72 Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, S.C.

Last week, Oklahoma captured the Clover Cup title in Mesa, Ariz. OU has finished second-or-better in five of its eight tournaments this season, including its last four straight.

The Sooners will be competing in the Clemson Invitational for the third straight year.

“We're excited to be in South Carolina this week,” said OU head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell. “This tournament is always special to us. We stay with local host families and really enjoy the event.”

The Sooners have shown significant depth in their lineup all season long. Oklahoma is the first school in conference history to have three different golfers earn Big 12 Women's Golfer of the Month recognitions in one season. Kaitlin Milligan most recently won the honor for the February, joining Julienne Soo (September) and Hannah Wood (November) as Sooners who have earned Golfer of the Month honors this season. Seven different Sooners have finished in the top 10 of at least one event this season.

Oklahoma will square off with one its toughest fields of the spring, as Clemson, Florida State, No. 8 Furman, Harvard, Indiana, No. 10 Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulane, UNC Wilmington, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin take part in the tournament.

OU begins play on Friday at 10:33 a.m. CT, teeing off of hole No. 1. The Sooners will be grouped with golfers from Tulane and Ohio State. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.com.

OU LINEUP

1. Julienne Soo, junior: Coming off her second career win, capturing the Clover Cup title last week with a 54-hole score of 211 (-5)…Has claimed five top 10 finishes this season…Tied for 14th at the Hurricane Invitational with a 225 (+1)…Took sixth at Battle at the Beach with a 210 (-3) to close the fall portion of the schedule...Tied for ninth place with a 2-under 214 at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational…Named the Big 12 Women's Golfer of the Month for the month of September after recording two top-10 finishes and shooting under par in five of six rounds...Her 204 (-9) at the season-opening Jim West Challenge is the fourth-lowest 54-hole score in program history...Secured ninth place at the Schooner Fall Classic with a 3-under 210…Dating back to last season, has finished at par or better in 34 of her last 51 rounds…Boasts 11 top-10 finishes in her career, all of which have come in her last 17 tournaments.

2. Hannah Wood, senior: Enters the Clemson Invitational with four straight top-20 finishes, including a fifth place showing last week at the Clover Cup…Climbed 15 spots in the final day of the Hurricane Invitational to finish in 13th place…Placed in 20th at the Westbrook Invitational…Named Big 12 Co-Golfer of the Month in November after leading the Sooners to a second-place finish in the Battle at the Beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Nov. 3-5) in the team's only November tournament...Shot a 4-under 209 in Cabo to tie for fourth place and secure her second top-10 finish of the fall season...Earned sixth place at the 2017 Schooner Fall Classic while playing as an individual...Shot a 209 (-4) in the Schooner.

3. Ana Ruiz, senior: Took fifth place in last year's edition of the Clemson Invitational…Has finished in the top 10 in two of her last four tournaments…Took eighth place at the Westbrook Invitational with a 210 (-6) in her fifth career top-10 finish…Secured sixth place with a 210 (-3) in Battle at the Beach…Opened the season with a score of 212 (-1) to tie for 18th at the Jim West Challenge…Owns 11 career top-20 finishes and five top-10 finishes.

4. Rylee Pedigo, senior: Tied for second place with a career-low-tying tournament score of 211 (-5) at the Hurricane Invitational…Clinched 49th at Battle at the Beach with a 224 (+11)...Competed in nine of 11 team events last season, finishing with a 75.56 (+3.67) stroke average...Fired a season-best 216 (E) to share 13th at the 2017 Florida State Match Up, highlighted by a career-best 67 (-5) in the final round...Owns five career top-20 finishes and three top-10 finishes...Claimed second place in the 2016 Clover Cup after shooting 211 (-5).

5. Kaitlin Milligan, freshman: Tied for 17th with a 223 (+7) at the Hurricane Invitational...Named Big 12 Golfer of the Month for February...At the Westbrook Invitational, shot a 54-hole total of 199 (-17) – the lowest individual tournament score in OU history - to finish in second...The freshman had opened the event with a 62 (-10) in Sunday's first round, marking the lowest 18-hole score in program history (previous low was 65), the best in Big 12 history and the lowest in NCAA Division I women's golf this season...In just her third tournament in the lineup...Finished in a tie for 13th with a 214 (+1) at the Battle at the Beach...Tied for 16th at the Schooner Fall Classic with a 1-under (212)…The first OU freshman to earn a top-20 finish since current seniors Ana Ruiz and Hannah Wood in 2014.

Individual competitor - Valerie Tanguay, senior: Tied for second place at the Hurricane Invitational while competing in the event as an individual, shooting a career-best 67 (-5) on the final day to finish with a 211 (-5)...The second place at the Hurricane Invitational is the first top-five finish of her career...Tied a career-low round score of 69 (-2) in the second round of the season-opening Jim West Challenge…Tied for 26th at the Jim West Challenge with a 216 (+3)… Has finished in the top 20 of both previous Schooner Fall Classic appearances, taking 17th in 2016 (213, even) and tying for 19th in 2015 (143, +1)…Played in all 11 team events last season, putting together a 73.42 (+1.52) season-stroke average…Owns eight career top-20 finishes, including two in the top 10.