Alabama breaks NCAA scoring record with Schooner runaway
Jiwon Jeon (Alabama Athletics photo)
NORMAN, Okla. (Sept. 30, 2018) – Alabama turned in a record-setting performance Sunday to win the Schooner Fall Classic. The Crimson Tide shot 11-under par in the final round at Belmar Golf Club to finish the tournament at 45 under. It’s a new NCAA record for team score vs. par – and by four shots. Last fall, Arkansas tied the previous record of 41 under in winning the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship.
Alabama's performance comes a week after the Tide outpaced a stacked field in the final round of the Annika Intercollegiate to win its season opener. Alabama, which lost just one player from its NCAA runner-up team last spring, remains undefeated for the season.
"This team is so good that you don't even realize what they're doing when it's happening," Alabama head coach Mic Potter said. "You can shoot low on this golf course if you drive it in the fairway and we were able to do that. We gave ourselves chances and when we had an opportunity to make a birdie, we did. We didn't make many bogeys either. It all added up in the end."
Alabama posted its highest round on Sunday – and 11-under 273 – and finished the day 17 shots ahead of runner-up Texas. The two teams were tied for the lead at 12 under after 18 holes.
Junior
Jiwon Jeon and senior
Lauren Stephenson finished first and second, respectively, in the individual standings and became the first Tide golfers to shoot under 200 for 54 holes in school history. Jeon as 17 under and set school records for score and score vs. par over 54 holes. The records come one day after the Daegu, South Korea, native set a program 36-hole record with a two-round 12-under 130 at the par 71, 6,048-yard course. Jeon has now recorded five-consecutive rounds in the 60s over her first two tournaments at Alabama.
"Jiwon has won big tournaments in college before," Potter said. "But this was her first win at Alabama. I think she's feeling a little more comfortable here and she liked playing this course."
Earlier this summer, Jeon met
Kristen Gillman in the final of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, and Gillman prevailed. Gillman was the defending champion in Norman this weekend. She finished tied for 10th at 6 under. Teammate
Angelica Moresco was tied for eighth one shot better.
Alabama’s lights-out play overshadowed a 28-under performance by Texas and a 21-under performance by host Oklahoma. Miami was fourth at 19 under and Baylor rounded out the top 5 at 13 under.
Information from Alabama Athletics used in this report
ABOUT THE
Schooner Fall Classic
54-hole women's college
tournament hosted
by the University of Oklahoma. Team (best four
scores
out of five players each round) and individual
competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information