Oklahoma, Mayo Lead Through 36 at Paradise Invitational

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Oklahoma closed day one of the spring-opening Paradise Invitational alone in first place after 36 holes were played at the par-72 Osprey Point Golf Club on Monday.

Powered by Gracie Mayo, who sits in solo first in the individual race, the Sooners (1, -22) lead No. 21 Oklahoma State by two strokes and third-place Mercer by 16 shots as the 15-team field heads into Tuesday's final round. OU's two-round score of 554 marked the second lowest 36-hole score in program history.

Mayo (1, -8) is one of three Sooners inside the top five in Boca Raton, as true freshman Audrey Rischer (T3, -6) and junior Savannah Barber (T5, -5) are in contention for medalist honors.

The Sooners are searching for their 12th win under Drouin-Luttrell, but the first since the program won the 2018 Clover Cup where Oklahoma last produced a medalist in a 54-hole event (Julienne Soo).

Mayo, a junior from Newport, Wales, carded rounds of 69 (-3) and 67 (-5) to move into solo first. She'll enter Tuesday with a one-shot advantage over Oklahoma State's Ellie Bushnell, as the two will be paired together in the final round.

Freshman Audrey Rischer (T3, -6) had a strong day as well, grabbing a share of third. Rischer fired a career-low, bogey-free 66 (-6) to post the field's best round of the day. Her even-par 72 in the afternoon kept the Sooner inside the top five.

Junior Savannah Barber (T5, -5) fired seven birdies to post a 67 in the opening round. Barber posted a 72 in the afternoon as she hunts her first career victory.

Junior MaKayla Tyrrell (T15, -2) improved upon her score of 74 from the first round by the end of the day, recording a 4-under 68 to move up 32 spots on the leaderboard at the end of the second round.

The Oklahoma lineup was rounded out by senior Reagan Chaney (T41, +2), who tallied rounds of 75 and 71 to share 41st after 36 holes.

UP NEXT

The Sooners tee off with Oklahoma State (2, -20) and Kentucky (4, -5) at 7 a.m. CT Tuesday. Live scoring will be available on Clippd and updates provided on the OU Women's Golf social media channels.