The Bobcats traveled to Catawba Island Club for Toledo’s Rocket Classic, finishing in first place after the final round was canceled due to weather conditions at +37.
Ohio finished the first round in third place at +24. Senior Mackenzie McRee led the team at three over. McRee had a great front nine, excluding a double bogey on the fourth. She had seven pars and a birdie while continuing her great play on the back with two more bogeys and seven more pars.
Two strokes behind came junior Morgan Rodgers at four over par. On the front, she shot two over with seven pars and two bogeys. She started strong on the back with four pars and a birdie before three straight bogeys on holes 15-17 pushed her to two over.
Junior Zoe Luebbers finished six over, finishing with seven bogeys, a birdie and ten pars, including six straight pars on the back nine on holes 14-18. Sophomore Ally Turner followed at +11. She had a great front nine, shooting three over with a double bogey, two bogeys, a birdie and five pars before struggling on the back, finishing eight over with four bogeys and two double bogeys.
Sophomore Saylor Wharff followed three strokes back at +14, finishing with two double bogeys, nine bogeys, a birdie and five pars. Freshman Katie Husted broke out for the Bobcats, finishing four over with a great front nine at one over with back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven and opening with pars on holes 1-3 and five. She struggled to open the back nine with three straight bogeys on holes 10-12 before settling down and finishing with four pars, a birdie on 14 and a bogey on 17.
The Bobcats dominated the second round, dropping 11 strokes and finishing +13. Husted continued to turn heads, finishing the round even par with a fantastic two under front nine that included seven pars and birdies on two and five. Luebbers and Rodgers followed close behind, both finishing two over. Rodgers opened the front with two bogeys on three and five before finishing with three pars and a birdie on eight. She continued her momentum with a birdie on ten and three straight pars on holes 11-13 before picking up bogeys on 14 and 18.
Luebbers started off the front with two straight pars and a birdie on the third before picking up back-to-back bogeys before finishing with four straight pars. She kept the momentum going on the back nine, starting with two straight pars before adding another birdie on hole 12 and another three straight par before finishing two bogeys on holes 16 and 18.
McRee struggled on the front with a double and two bogeys and six pars before shooting even par on the back nine. Starting with a bogey on the tenth before coming right back with a birdie on the 11th, before picking up another bogey on the 13th and finishing strong with four pars and a birdie on the 16th.
Turner came in a stroke behind at five over, shooting three over on the front with two birdies, two bogeys, a double bogey and three pars while picking up a double bogey to start the back nine, a bogey on the 13th and seven pars.
Rounding out the group came Wharff at +11. She shot a solid front nine, finishing four over with a double bogey, two bogeys and six pars before struggling on the back with three bogeys and a double bogey.
The consistent play in the second round allowed the Bobcats to take home the victory, with the final round being rained out. Husted led the way for the Bobcats, placing second at +4, placing first in average score on par 3s at two under (2.75), tied for seventh on average score on par 4s at +6 (4.3), tied for fourth at even par on par 5s, birdies (5) and pars (23).
This win was the first of Ohio’s season, and it should give the team some solid momentum going forward into the last two tournaments of the year.
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