University of Memphis Athletics
Monday, May 6
Norman, Okla.
TBA
University of Memphis
vs
NCAA Regional
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Fletcher in Lead After Round One at NCAA Regionals
May 06, 2019 | Women's Golf
Fletcher leads the field with a day one 68 (-4).
NORMAN, Oklahoma – Senior women's golfer Michaela Fletcher carded six birdies and sits atop the leaderboard after an opening round 68 (-4), Monday, at the NCAA Norman Regional at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
Fletcher opened the day with a bogey on one, but birdied her next two holes to quickly move under par. She added another birdie on eight and hit the turn at -2 (34).
"I had a bit of a nervy start, which is expected," Fletcher said "and I got away with a bogey. On two, I hit a great shot on the par three and committed to going through my process and focusing on my target and not on what happened recently. On hole three, I did the same thing, focused on target, executed my game plan and left myself exactly the shot and exactly the distance that I wanted."
The senior, who just graduated from the University of Memphis on Saturday, then birdied three of the next four holes on the backside (10, 12 and 13) to move to -5.
"I putted really well today," Fletcher said. "It was windy but I really was just staying in the moment really well. I had no idea what I shot today until I saw the scorecard at the end. I just stayed in the moment and I felt like I played really solid golf."
She stayed at -5 until the 18th hole, which she bogeyed, to finish day one of the regional championships with a one stroke lead on Arizona State's Olivia Mehaffey, Texas Tech's Sofia Garcia, Florida's Sierra Brooks and North Carolina State's Laura Kowohl. In all, 23 players carded rounds under par in the opening round on Monday.
"This is a tough regional," Fletcher said. "There are lots of great schools and players, which is awesome. You always want to compete against the best. And this is a great course. There are holes where you can score, but there are a lot of little tricks that I can see. You really need a good game plan and good course management. There's places where if you miss shots, you can really let the score get away from you."
Competing as one of just six individuals at the regional, Fletcher is the first Lady Tiger in program history to make three NCAA Regionals. As a freshman, in 2015, she finished fifth at the Notre Dame Regional to become the first Memphis player to advance for the national championships from the regional format. She then had to take a medical redshirt her sophomore season due to injuries. As a redshirt sophomore, Fletcher again made the regional field at the 2017 Columbus regional, where she finished 25th overall.
A three-time all-American Athletic Conference honoree, Fletcher is trying to make a return trip to the NCAA championship event in her final collegiate season after just missing the regional field last season. The top six teams and the top three individuals not on a qualifying team advance from each regional to the national championship.
Florida and North Carolina State share the team lead with a day one 284 (-4), followed by a four-way tie for third between Texas Tech, Texas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State (-1).
The NCAA's 2019 women's golf championship will be hosted by the University of Arkansas at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, May 17-22.
Fletcher begins her second round of play Tuesday at 8:20 a.m., again off of tee one. Live scoring will be available HERE.
Fletcher opened the day with a bogey on one, but birdied her next two holes to quickly move under par. She added another birdie on eight and hit the turn at -2 (34).
"I had a bit of a nervy start, which is expected," Fletcher said "and I got away with a bogey. On two, I hit a great shot on the par three and committed to going through my process and focusing on my target and not on what happened recently. On hole three, I did the same thing, focused on target, executed my game plan and left myself exactly the shot and exactly the distance that I wanted."
The senior, who just graduated from the University of Memphis on Saturday, then birdied three of the next four holes on the backside (10, 12 and 13) to move to -5.
"I putted really well today," Fletcher said. "It was windy but I really was just staying in the moment really well. I had no idea what I shot today until I saw the scorecard at the end. I just stayed in the moment and I felt like I played really solid golf."
She stayed at -5 until the 18th hole, which she bogeyed, to finish day one of the regional championships with a one stroke lead on Arizona State's Olivia Mehaffey, Texas Tech's Sofia Garcia, Florida's Sierra Brooks and North Carolina State's Laura Kowohl. In all, 23 players carded rounds under par in the opening round on Monday.
"This is a tough regional," Fletcher said. "There are lots of great schools and players, which is awesome. You always want to compete against the best. And this is a great course. There are holes where you can score, but there are a lot of little tricks that I can see. You really need a good game plan and good course management. There's places where if you miss shots, you can really let the score get away from you."
Competing as one of just six individuals at the regional, Fletcher is the first Lady Tiger in program history to make three NCAA Regionals. As a freshman, in 2015, she finished fifth at the Notre Dame Regional to become the first Memphis player to advance for the national championships from the regional format. She then had to take a medical redshirt her sophomore season due to injuries. As a redshirt sophomore, Fletcher again made the regional field at the 2017 Columbus regional, where she finished 25th overall.
A three-time all-American Athletic Conference honoree, Fletcher is trying to make a return trip to the NCAA championship event in her final collegiate season after just missing the regional field last season. The top six teams and the top three individuals not on a qualifying team advance from each regional to the national championship.
Florida and North Carolina State share the team lead with a day one 284 (-4), followed by a four-way tie for third between Texas Tech, Texas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State (-1).
The NCAA's 2019 women's golf championship will be hosted by the University of Arkansas at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, May 17-22.
Fletcher begins her second round of play Tuesday at 8:20 a.m., again off of tee one. Live scoring will be available HERE.
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