WICHITA — Missouri women's golf finished second at the OU Intercollegiate, two strokes behind host Oklahoma after a closing 9-under-par team round Tuesday at Wichita Country Club in Wichita, Kansas. The Tigers posted 1-over in the first round and 3-under in the second before their lowest round of the tournament kept them in second place in the 11-team, 66-player field contested over three rounds in two days.
Senior Addie Dobson powered the final-round surge, matching her career-low 18-hole score with a 66 on the par-71 layout while shooting even or under par on every hole with five birdies. Dobson finished second individually at 6-under (71-69-66), one stroke behind Oklahoma's winner, after opening with three consecutive birdies to close her first round and finishing with a 4-under final round. The 66 matched her career low just two weeks after her first collegiate tournament victory and 54-hole low at Mizzou's Johnie Imes Invitational.
Senior Melanie Walker placed fifth at 4-under (72-68-69) and recorded the team's only eagle on hole 4 in the first round, with eight of her 10 birdies over the final two rounds coming on the front nine. Senior Fleur van Beek tied for 18th at 1-over (73-72-69), junior Alexandra Berglund tied for 22nd at 2-over (72-72-71), sophomore Addie Surber tied for 38th at 7-over (70-75-75) after four front-nine birdies in her opening round, and freshman Page Bowman, competing as an individual, tied for 40th at 8-over (75-70-76) with a career-low 70 in the second round.
Dobson and Walker continue to compete under temporary eligibility granted by a temporary restraining order against the NCAA. The two seniors, who filed a lawsuit seeking a fifth year under the NCAA's five-year eligibility model, received the order from a Boone County judge requiring the NCAA to allow them to compete until a final decision is made. A hearing originally set for Sept. 28 was pushed back, extending their temporary eligibility, with the next hearing now scheduled for Oct. 8.
Oklahoma, also an SEC program, earned its third victory in its last four tournaments, tying its program record for most wins in a season with more than half the season remaining ahead of the SEC Championship in April. Missouri next competes at the Illini Women's Invitational hosted by the University of Illinois at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois.