OU Heads to Chicago for Illini Invitational

NORMAN – Oklahoma women's golf is back in action when it heads to historic Medinah Country Club in Chicago for the Illini Women's Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole tournament begins with two consecutive rounds on Monday, played on the par-72, 6,159-yard Course No. 2.

Medinah has previously hosted five major men's championships along with the 2012 Ryder Cup.

"We look forward to competing at one of the most iconic country clubs in the country," said OU head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell. "Once again, patience will be key for us. We have to play in the present and always patient. We got ahead of ourselves last week and need to let things happen for putts to fall."

The Sooners are joined in the field by Augusta, Illinois, Indiana, Kennesaw State, Kent State, Louisville, Maryland, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Purdue, San Jose State, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Wisconsin.

Sophomore Mikhaela Fortuna will lead the Sooners in the top of the lineup after claiming a top-10 finish at last week's Schooner Fall Classic. Fortuna is boasts a 0.0 (even) vs. par stroke average through two tournaments with finishes in 12th and seventh place.

Oklahoma's first round begins with a shotgun start on Monday morning at 8:30 CT. The Sooners will be paired with golfers from San Jose State and Texas Tech.

Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.

OKLAHOMA LINEUP

1. Mikhaela Fortuna: Leads the Sooners with a season stroke average of 70.80 (exactly even par)...Coming off a seventh place finish at the Schooner Fall Classic...Shot a career-best 54-hole score of 209 (-1) at the Schooner...Opened the season with a 12th place finish at the Minnesota Invitational...Took part in nine events as a freshman with a 74.27 stroke average...Collected three top-20 finishes in her rookie season...Tied for 16th at the Westbrook Invitational...Competed as an individual at the Schooner Fall Classic and posted two rounds in the 60s, finishing in a tie for 14th place.

2. Kaitlin Milligan: Has claimed a top-20 placement in 11 of her last 13 tournaments...Enters the tournament with back-to-back top-12 finishes...Secured 11th at the Schooner Fall Classic...Opened the season with a 12th place finish at the Minnesota Invitational...A 2018 All-Big 12 selection...Wrapped up her 2018-19 campaign ranked No. 43 in the national Golfstat rankings and No. 53 in the Golfweek collegiate rankings...Qualified for the 2019 NCAA Championships as an individual after winning the NCAA Norman Regional...Her 2018-19 season stroke average (72.40) is the fourth lowest in program history...Strung together eight straight top-20 finishes from Sept. 30 through March 31, including five in the top 10…Her 117 birdies in 2017-18 were the second most that season by a Division I freshman...Owns the program and Big 12 record for lowest round, firing a 62 (-10) in the first round of the 2018 Westbrook Invitational.

3. Sydney Youngblood: Saw action in seven tournaments last season, firing a 73.60 stroke average...Claimed 36th place in the NCAA Norman Regional...Carded a career-low 64 (-7) at the Schooner Fall Classic…Competed in all postseason events in 2018, including the NCAA Championships…Finished in 24th place at the 2018 NCAA Regional, shooting a 219 (+3) in Austin, Texas.

4. Libby Winans: Broke the program record for lowest season scoring average by a freshman with a 72.59 average...Also owns the OU freshman record for par-or-better rounds with 15...Led the Sooners with a sixth-place finish in the 2019 Big 12 Championship, the highest finish in the tournament by an OU freshman since 2015...Named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team...Earned her first tournament win at the Clover Cup shooting a 214 (-2)…Tied for fifth in the Moon Golf Invitational to earn her second-best collegiate finish scoring a 211 (-5).

5. Maria Fernanda Martinez: Making her third appearance in the OU lineup…Enrolled at Oklahoma last January and redshirted during the spring semester…Came to OU from Veracruz, Mexico.