Fletcher Teeing Off at NCAA Championship Friday

Friday, May 17

Fayetteville, Ark.

8:10 a.m.

University of Memphis

2019 NCAA Women's Golf Championships

Michaela Fletcher at 2019 NCAA practice round

May 16, 2019 | Women's Golf

Senior tees off at 8:10 a.m. Friday.

By: Tammy DeGroff

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Senior women's golfer Michaela Fletcher will suit up as a University of Memphis competitor in one last time Friday when she tees off at the NCAA Division I Women's Championships. Fletcher is one of 12 individuals who earned a spot in the field for the championships with her finish at the NCAA Norman Regional.

Those 12 individuals, and 24 qualifying teams, will tee off Friday morning at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville. The 6,473-yard course will play as a par 73 for the women's championships, but is rated 79.1 with a 153 slope. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the course keeps Clear Creek in play on a number of holes and will be a stiff challenge for the field that features the best of college women's golfers. Home to the University of Arkansas Razorback golf teams, the course will host the women's championship one week and the NCAA Men's Championship the following week.

Fletcher tees off Friday at 8:10 a.m. in the first of three rounds of stroke play before the field is cut. At the end of 54 holes, the field will be cut to 15 teams and the top nine individuals not on an advancing team. The format is one Fletcher is familiar with as the senior qualified for the NCAA Championships as a freshman back in 2015. As a freshman, she placed fifth at the Notre Dame Regional and advanced to the championship field at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. There, she missed the cut at the end of 54 holes and finished tied for 53^rdoverall.

But the three-time all-conference honoree relied on her short game to get her back to the championships this time. At the Norman Regional, her 11 birdies over three rounds ranked sixth-best among the 96 golfers at the event. Nationally, she ranks 10^thin Division I women's golf with her 71.77 scoring average.

Defending 2018 team match play champs Arizona returns to this year's field, as does last year's individual medalist Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest. Part of the Wake Forest team entry, Kupcho is one of nine of the top 10 ranked players in the latest Golfstat rankings to earn a spot in this year's event.

Players will go off holes one and 10 on Friday starting at 7:15 a.m. Fletcher will go off of tee 10 at 8:10 a.m. She will be paired with Maryland's Virunpat Olankitkunchai and Murray State's Linette Holmslykke.

Live scoring will be available at www.GolfStat.com.