by By Matt Dowdy
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech women’s golf program will begin its 2016-17 slate Monday morning at the same site it hopes to return to next May – The Rawls Course.
The Lady Raiders, coming off their sixth NCAA Regional appearance over the past seven seasons, will host the second-annual Red Raider Invitational beginning with an 8:30 a.m. start Monday on its home course. The two-day tournament features 36 holes Monday and then a final 18 on Tuesday.
“We’re looking forward to starting our season on our home course,” said Tech head coach JoJo Robertson, who enters her eighth season leading the Lady Raiders. “This will be a good experience for our team, playing at The Rawls Course in a tournament setting.”
The Red Raider Invitational is the first of 10 tournaments for the Lady Raiders leading into the Big 12 Championships, held April 21-23 at The Dominion Club in San Antonio, and potentially a NCAA Regional selection.
Another selection to an NCAA Regional would send the Lady Raiders back to The Rawls Course in early May as Tech has been selected as one of four regional hosts. The facility, which was recently named the fourth-best collegiate course in the country by Golfweek, previously hosted a NCAA Men’s Regional in 2015.
Robertson will turn to an experienced lineup to start the season as all five of Tech’s participants – Emma Ballard, Caralyn Barker, Gabby Barker, Lauren Mason and Mami Yamamoto – were members of the 2015-16 squad that narrowly missed out on a return trip to the NCAA Championships.
Barker (Shoshone-Paiute) led Tech throughout the 2015-16 campaign after compiling a team-leading 72.3 stroke average that tied former Lady Raider and current LPGA professional Kim Kaufman for the lowest in school history. Kaufman previously set the mark during the 2012-13 season where she earned All-America honors.
Barker finished in a tie for fourth place last spring in Tech’s inaugural Red Raider Invitational where the Lady Raiders ran away with the tournament title thanks to a 13-stroke lead. Mason and Yamamoto were both on Tech’s card for the tournament as well as the duo ended in a tie for 13th overall.
The Lady Raiders will look to defend their title against a 14-team field that features the likes of Oregon and Augusta, both of which wrapped the 2015-16 campaign ranked in the top 50 of the final Golfweek poll. Tech, likewise, ended the season ranked among the nation’s elite as No. 36 overall.
Admission is free for both days of the Red Raider Invitational. Fans unable to attend the tournament can follow the results live via www.GolfStat.com.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Dates: September 12-13, 2016
Format: Stroke play, 54 holes, 36 holes on Monday, 18 holes on Tuesday
Tee Times: 8:30 a.m. (CT) start Monday, 8:30 a.m. start Tuesday
Site: The Rawls Course, Lubbock, Texas
Host School: Texas Tech
Course par and yardage: Par 72, 6,541 yards
2016 Red Raider Invitational Field (Final 2015-16 Golfweek ranking): Oregon (18), Texas Tech (36), Augusta (49), New Mexico State (72), Iowa (74), East Tennessee State (90), Santa Clara (92), North Florida (95), Kennesaw State (99), Princeton (105), Central Arkansas (109), Wichita State (110), Cincinnati (114), North Texas (198).
