TCU Golf 2018-2019

[JogginFrog]

TCU men played well in the inaugural Big 12 Match Play Championship but got a bit of a raw deal in terms of results. They went 3-1-1 for the week, played the top-ranked team in the country to a draw...and wound up 5th out of 10 teams.

TCU went 2-1-1 in pool play against Kansas (2-3-1 loss), Oklahoma State (3-3 draw, including Stefano Mazzoli taking out U.S. Am champ Viktor Hovland), Tech (win) and WV (win). Problem was that Kansas and OSU both went 2-0-2, leaving TCU third in the five-team pool:

KU - 8 points
OSU - 8 points
TCU - 7 points
Tech - 3 points
WVU - 1 point

So, KU went to the championship match on the basis of a tie-breaker with OSU, and TCU wound up in the 5th-place match, which it won vs. K-State.

Of the 7 TCU men competing, all but one won at least two matches and finished .500 or better. Best individual records were Mazzoli at 2-0-1 (did not play in the final two matches) and David Ravetto at 3-1-1.

Sadly, Baylor won the event, defeating Kansas in the final.

 

[JogginFrog]

After the first day of play, TCU women are leading the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational in San Antonio. They are -9 as a team, six strokes ahead of Houston and Marshall. There are nine teams in the field.

Annika Clark and Sabrina Iqbal both fired four-under 68s for a share of second place individually. Greta Bruner is also in the top 10 at -1.

Follow progress over the next two days at:
http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=teamPlayer&tid=17260

The single-round team score of 279 is a record for TCU. Congrats, ladies! Keep up the good play!

 

[JogginFrog]

The TCU women have won the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational at San Antonio. After Day 2's round was rained out, the tournament was reduced to 36 holes. TCU shot 279-302 for a +5 total, winning by 7 shots over Marshall and 8 over Tennessee.

Freshman Sabrina Iqbal, in her second college tourney, has tied for medalist at -1 (143). She is probably now in a three-way playoff for the individual title with Marshall's Shelby Brauckmuller and Kerri Parks.

Update: No playoff; all three players declared co-medalists and given credit for an event victory. So, congrats to Sabrina on her first collegiate win.

Senior Annika Clark finished a shot back of the lead in fourth; Junior Greta Bruner finished two back in sixth. All five Frogs finished in the top 20 of the 51-player field.

Congrats to all of the Frogs!

 

[JogginFrog]

TCU men are on the course at the Golf Club of Georgia Intercollegiate. Deep field, with 7 of the top 15 teams. Preview article on GoFrogs.com said TCU has the number-one strength-of-schedule in the country thus far.

Follow progress here: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=teamPlayer&tid=16548

Highly ranked Stefano Mazzoli did not play the last day at the Big 12 Match Play and is not in the lineup for this tournament. No mention of injury or other competitions. Frogs have a deep lineup this year, but Stefano's absence is surprising.

 

[JogginFrog]

TCU men finish 13th (out of 14 teams) in Georgia. No Frogs finished in the top 40 individually. Tough finish to the fall slate; hopefully they'll come back strong in the spring.

 

[JogginFrog]

Fantastic feature on Angela Stanford following her recent win:
http://www.lpga.com/news/2018-stanford-in-her-glory-at-tournament-of-champions

 

[JogginFrog]

TCU women played 36 holes today in San Marcos at the Jim West Challenge. With rounds of -4 and -5, the Frogs are in first place, leading by 5 over Florida St. and by 8 over two other teams.

This is a stronger field than the one they faced last week, with three top-30 teams, so the Frogs are punching above their weight.

Individually, Annika Clark is T3 at -4, four shots out of the lead. Freshman Sabrina Iqbal (-3, T7) is another shot back; Grace Do (T12) is at -2.

This team has done a great job of limiting the big score and getting contributions from all of its players. Final round tomorrow--here's hoping for back-to-back team trophies.

Follow progress here: https://m.birdiefire.com/tournament/51448/

 

[JogginFrog]

TCU plays a solid final round to win the Jim West Challenge by a shot over 22nd-ranked Florida State!

Frogs were steady all day in San Marcos, shooting their third straight subpar round as a team to finish at -11 (284-283-286). But it got tight late as Houston and then Florida State made runs, the latter behind individual medalist Frida Kinhult (-14). TCU held on to win its second tournament in a row. Also in the field: Oklahoma, Tech, A&M, and #21 Miami.

Individually, Annika Clark and Sabrina Iqbal finished T7 at -4; Grace Do finished T10 at -3.

Congrats to the Frogs on winning...and (edit) for crushing the program's scoring record for a 54-hole tournament (853 beat the old record by 6 shots)!

 

[QuilterFrawg]

TCU plays a solid final round to win the Jim West Challenge by a shot over 22nd-ranked Florida State!

Frogs were steady all day in San Marcos, shooting their third straight subpar round as a team to finish at -11 (284-283-286). But it got tight late as Houston and then Florida State made runs, the latter behind individual medalist Frida Kinhult (-14). TCU held on to win its second tournament in a row. Also in the field: Oklahoma, Tech, A&M, and #21 Miami.

Individually, Annika Clark and Sabrina Iqbal finished T7 at -4; Grace Do finished T10 at -3.

Congrats to the Frogs!

Who is UCT?
Kidding.
Hope they enjoyed our new course here at Kissing Tree. Couldn't ask for better weather.
Nice going, ladies!

 

[JogginFrog]

Golf Channel last night highlighted Oklahoma State's Viktor Hovland as a match play killer, with a 14-1 record in 2018:

3-0 in 2018 NCAA finals
6-0 in U.S. Amateur
3-1 in Big 12 match play
2-0 in this week's East Lake Cup​

What they didn't mention was who the loss was to: TCU's Stefano Mazzoli, 3&2.

 

[JogginFrog]

TCU women wrap up their fall slate this weekend with The Battle at the Beach, which starts today and ends Sunday.

First, congrats to the coaches on getting a second straight invite to a tourney in Cabo (may have had to make nice with host Baylor). Here's where they're playing: http://clubcampestresanjose.com/en-us/golf

Second, congrats to the team on cracking the Golfweek top 25 this week (25th). That's what happens when you start beating top-25 teams. Frogs will get an opportunity to take down even bigger game this week, with three top-10 teams in the field (Vanderbilt, Texas, Virginia), plus two other teams ahead of them in the rankings.

Frogs have been winning with team consistency, but shout outs to Annika Clark who cracked the top 100 in the Golfstat individual rankings (85) and Sabrina Iqbal who is on the doorstep (112).

They'll be on the course at 10:30 Central. Follow progress here: https://www.birdiefire.com/tournament/53089/

 

[JogginFrog]

Frogs played a decent round on a tough course in Cabo and sit in a four-way tie for 4th after round 1 at +14. TCU's score was good enough to match those of top-10 teams Vanderbilt and Virginia, but it trails leader Auburn by 11 shots.

Grace Do and Greta Bruner are both T12 individually after posting 2-over 73s.

Last year, TCU finished 11th in a 14-team field at this event. This year's field has 17 teams.

 

[JogginFrog]

TCU women with another solid round in Cabo, shooting a 3-over 287 with no individual score over 74. Frogs are in 6th as a team. While they dropped a bit from yesterday's T4, they are in a good position to chase, just four shots out of third place and having put distance between themselves and a number of teams further down the board.

Individually, Greta Bruner and Valeria Pacheco led the Frogs with even-par 71s. Greta is tied for 10th overall at +2; Grace Do is +3 (T13). Final round tomorrow.

 

[JogginFrog]

Wow--TCU women shoot the low round of the day in Cabo and finish second at the Battle of the Beach. They break the all-time low round in school history that they set a few weeks ago with a 277 (-7). This one came on a par 71 course, so the other round is still better in relation to par (-9), but I think this course was quite a bit tougher than the one in San Antonio..

TCU finished well back of tourney champ Auburn but ahead of second-ranked Vanderbilt, fourth-ranked Texas and 10th-ranked Virginia. They will be moving up in the rankings this week.

Individually, Greta Bruner shot a four-under 67 to finish in solo third at -2 for the tournament. Grace Do finished T9 after a final-round 70, and Sabrina Iqbal finished T12 with a final-round 69.

Consistent play across the board continues to be the strength of this team. No trophy this week, but a finish that will get the Frogs national notice. Congrats!

 

[Farmfrog]

What do you think is the big difference with the women’s team this year? Are the newcomers that good?

 

[JogginFrog]

What do you think is the big difference with the women’s team this year? Are the newcomers that good?

The difference seems to be consistency across the board. Four of the 5 TCU starters have scoring averages between 72.0 and 74.1. Each player has shown the ability to break par, and each one has done a good job of limiting the big score.

The two freshmen are good. Sabrina Iqbal has been fantastic, and Valeria Pacheco has posted several low rounds.

Among returnees, Grace Do has improved substantially, Greta Bruner has sustained her high level of play after making a big leap last spring, and Annika Clark rediscovered her form after a spring slump last year.

No one player is being relied on to carry the others, which seems to give them all the expectation that they will contribute, every round.

 

[JogginFrog]

TCU alum Julien Brun has been in form through the first two stages of European Tour qualifying, shooting 30 under par through eight rounds. He finished T2 in his Stage 1 qualifier and T4 in Stage 2.
http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/players/playerid=38818/index.html

He advances to the final stage this weekend, where European Tour cards are on offer to the top 25 finishers in a 95-player field. Would be a big breakthrough for him. This link may be one to watch for progress:
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/qualifying/index.html

 

[JogginFrog]

Meanwhile, Paul Barjon is in Stage 2 of Web.com Tour qualifying this week in Florida. He shot 68-67-68-66 to advance out of Stage 1 in Garland.

In Stage 2, he shot a first-round 69, which is T21 in the 72-player field. Top 18 plus ties advance after four rounds. Follow progress here: https://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq18/event/pgatq1823/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Update: Barjon shoots another 69 in round 2. His -6 score is T19, one shot out of qualifying with two rounds to go.

 

[JogginFrog]

Barjon shoots a third-round 65 to get to -13 and move up to T8 at Web.com Q School (Second Stage of 3). That gets him on the right side of the qualifying line with one round to play (18 players will advance). Cut line is currently at -10, but with 30 players at -9 or better, it will probably end up at -13 or better...so he'll need to keep the pedal down tomorrow.

 

[JogginFrog]

An oversight not to have mentioned Franklin Corpening (TCU '08) who is also playing in the Web.com Q School at the qualifying site at the RTJ Golf Trail's Magnolia Grove course in Mobile, AL. Frank was medalist in Stage 1 at Garland, shooting a final round 62 (!) for a -20 total, winning by one.

This week in Stage 2, he has posted rounds of 71-68-69 (-8), which leaves him four shots outside of the Top 18 at that site. He'll need to put together another great final round to advance, but it's clearly possible. In addition to the great final round in Stage 1, he also shot a 62 in the final round of the 2013 Colonial tourney on the big tour, playing on a sponsor's exemption.

Corpening played on the Web.com tour in 2013 and 2014. Follow his progress toward qualifying here: https://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq18/event/pgatq1828/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

If anyone knows of other TCU alumni working to qualify for one of the pro tours, please post.