Ohio traveled to Portage, Michigan for Western Michigan’s two-day Bronco Fall Classic this weekend where it placed second behind California State University Northridge by five strokes.
The Bobcats looked to secure back-to-back tournament wins after winning Ball State’s Brittany Kelly Classic. The team shot an 889 (+25), led by junior Mackenzie Mcree’s tournament-leading 221 (+5).
The Bobcats started the early round with a 309 (+21) led by sophomore Zoe Leubers 75 (+3), where she shot two under par (34) on the front nine, including three straight birdies on holes 6-8. Mcree wasn’t too far behind her, finishing with a 77 after a great front nine, including a birdie on the 7th hole.
The Bobcat's second round was their best round as all five golfers finished six strokes over par or better. Junior Sydney Longstreth led the Bobcats in this round with an impressive 38 (+2) on the front nine, which included four birdies (two of which on par fives) and a 37 (+1), finishing the round with a 75. Mcree matched Longstreth with a 75, a 37 on the front and a 38 on the back nine, adding a birdie on the ninth. Freshman Saylor Whariff had her best round, posting a 78 with five holes of par or better, including a birdie on the sixth. The Bobcats finished the round +17 (305), sitting tied for second going into the final round.
In the final round, the team struggled with a 315 (+27). Luebers started the round hot with back-to-back birdies. After the birdies, she struggled the front nine, picking up four birdies before regaining her composure on the back nine with a birdie on the 12th and five straight pars to give her a final round of a 76 (+4). Longstreth followed her with a 77, a 39 on the front and a 38 on the back nine. Behind her was sophomore Morgan Rodgers who finished with an 80. She finished the tournament on a high note with a birdie on 17. Whariff followed her with yet another consistent round, shooting an 82 on the day and adding a birdie on the 14th. Rounding out the group was Mcree with an 84 (+12), a 40 on the front and a 44 on the back nine.
The final score for the Bobcats was a 929 (+65) placing them second, five strokes behind California State Northridge, followed by Western Michigan for third and Central Michigan in fourth. The team finished the tournament with the best score on par fives by seven strokes with a +14 led by Zoe Leubbers and Sydney Longstreth who tied for second with a two under on par 5s.
As for individual rankings, the ranking started with Leubbers tied for fourth with a 229 (+13) followed by Longstreth tied for sixth with a 231(+15), moving to Rodgers in 14th tallying a 235 (+19), falling right Mcree in 17th finishing with a 236 (+20), and rounding out the group with the freshman Whariff in 26th with a 244 (+28).
