by LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech junior Gabby Barker (Shoshone-Paiute Tribes) climbed the leaderboard over the closing 18 holes of the Red Raider Invitational on Tuesday as she used a 1-under 71 final round to claim the individual title at The Rawls Course.
It was the second under-par card of the tournament for Barker, who previously fired a 2-under 70 and a 1-over 73 on Monday. She won the individual title outright, marking the second medalist honor of her career as she previously won the 2015 Betsy Rawls Invitational.
“I thought I played pretty consistently,” said Barker, who outlasted Iowa’s Jessica Ip by a stroke over the final few holes. “I didn’t go up-and-down like a roller coaster. I knew that if I bogeyed, there would be some birdie opportunities out there. It feels great (to win the individual title).”
Barker’s climb up the leaderboard pushed her past teammate Lauren Mason, who finished tied for third after enter the final round as the first-day leader. Mason shot a 5-over final round for the third top-five finish of her career.
As a team, the Lady Raiders ended the tournament in second place, nine strokes back of team champion New Mexico State and one ahead of third-place Oregon. Tech combined for a 13-over 301 final round, leaving the Lady Raiders at 25-over for the tournament.
“I thought it was a great tournament,” Tech head coach JoJo Robertson said. “Our team played well. All in all, I’m really pleased. I think everybody showed some consistency out there. Everybody had some great rounds – maybe their best ever on this course. I’m really pleased and it was a really great way to start our season.”
Caralyn Barker and Emma Ballard recorded Tech’s other two scores over the final 18 holes as Barker had a 4-over 76 while Ballard was at 5-over 77 to finish tied for 35th overall. Barker and teammate Mami Yamamoto tied for 43rd overall after carding a 10-over 82 final round.
The Red Raider Invitational was the first of two to be hosted at The Rawls Course this season as Tech is one of four NCAA Regional hosts. The regional is slated to run May 8-10.
The Lady Raiders will take nearly a month off before continuing their fall campaign with the Jim West Challenge. The two-day tournament begins Oct. 9 at the Club at Carlton Woods in Houston.
