Sooners Travel to Miami for Hurricane Invitational

NORMAN – A week after a second-place finish in Arizona, the Oklahoma women's golf team heads to Miami for the Hurricane Invitational this week. The Sooners will tee off on Monday at the par-72 6,100-yard Biltmore Golf Club in Coral Gables, Fla.

The two-day, 54-hole, event will provide a tough test for the No. 28 Sooners, as the field features four other top-30 teams in the latest Golfstat rankings. The 13-team field is comprised of No. 9 Arizona, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 26 Miami, No. 28 Oklahoma, No. 30 Illinois, No. 50 Michigan, No. 53 Maryland, No. 54 TCU, No. 62 Indiana, No. 76 Penn State, No. 85 Texas State, No. 99 Middle Tennessee and No. 5 Barry (DII).

"We're excited to head to Florida this week." Head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell said. "We love playing at Biltmore and look forward to competing again. We've had a really productive week tweaking a few things."

Oklahoma has made the trip to Miami twice over the past five years for the Hurricane Invitational, finished eighth in 2016 and second in 2018. In the 2018 edition, the Sooners were led by Valerie Tanguay and Rylee Pedigo, who both tied for second. A freshman on that team, Kaitlin Milligan, shot a 223 to finish tied for 17^th; she is the only Sooner on the roster that has played at Biltmore.

Milligan will look to lead OU to its first win of the season, as the junior is playing some of the best golf in the country. She has recorded top-20 finishes in 15 of her last 17 events, and top-5 placements in three of her last four. She'll be assisted by senior transfer Ellen Secor, who will look to build on her career-performance from the last tournament. The Portland, Ore., native fired rounds of 68-69-66 to finish in a tie for second place at the Westbrook Invitational last weekend. Secor's total score at Westbrook of 203 was tied for the second lowest 54-hole score in school history.

OU is bringing an individual competitor to Miami as Maria Fernandez Martinez will get her first action of the spring season.

Oklahoma tees off at 7:00 a.m. CT Monday with a shotgun start. The golfers will play 36 holes of continuous play on Monday and then the final round of 18 on Tuesday. The Sooners will be paired with Illinois and TCU for Monday's rounds.

Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.

OKLAHOMA LINEUP

1. Ellen Secor: Fresh off a career tournament, finishing second (-13, 203) at the Westbrook Invitational…Making her third appearance in the OU lineup…Came to Norman from Colorado State, where she competed in 33 events over the last three seasons...Boasts six top-five career finishes and captured her first collegiate tournament title last season at the Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate... Claimed a victory at the 2018 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship...Named to the Mountain West Academic All-Conference Team in 2017.

2. Libby Winans: Broke the program record for lowest season scoring average by a freshman with a 72.59 average...Fired round of 64 at 2019 Westbrook Invitational, tying herself for second-lowest round ever for a Sooner…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).

3. Kaitlin Milligan: Has claimed a top-20 placement in 15 of her last 17 career tournaments, including a season-best second-place finish at the Illini Women's Invitational...Ranked No. 27 in the country per Golfstat heading into the week…Received an invitation to play in the 2020 Augusta National Women's Invitational... Finished in sixth place at the White Sands Invitational…Took fifth place at the Jim West Challenge...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.

4. Mikhaela Fortuna: Tied for 19^th at Westbrook after carding a 213 (-3)…Claimed a 12th place finish at the White Sands Invitational after shooting a career-low 66 in the final round...Claimed 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.

5. Sydney Youngblood: Took ninth place at the Jim West Challenge...Tied for 20th at the Illini Women's Invitational...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.