The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
No. 12/11 Women’s Golf preview: Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
03.24.2022 | Women's Golf
Longhorns set to play at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga.
When: Friday, March 25 – Sunday, March 27
Schedule of Play: Three rounds of stroke play; 18 holes each day
Where: University of Georgia Golf Course (Athens, Ga.)
Host: University of Georgia
Course Info: Par-72; 6,327 Yards
Live Stats
Tournament Notes
The Field: In addition to the Longhorns (No. 12 in the first Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll of the spring season, released on Feb. 25), the 15-team Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic field includes: No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 14 USC, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 23 Ole Miss, College of Charleston, host Georgia, Georgia Southern, Houston, Louisville, Mercer and Mississippi State. Eight of the 15 teams participating are currently ranked among the nation's top-25.
In the opening round, UT will be paired with Georgia, with play beginning at 12:15 p.m. CT / 1:15 p.m. ET on hole 1.
Polling: In addition to Texas' No. 12 ranking in the first Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll of the spring season (released Feb. 25), the Longhorns also rank 11th in the most recent Golfweek (released March 22) and Golfstat (released March 8) polls.
The Texas Lineup: UT will be represented by the following five players at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic:
- Sara Kouskova (Sr., 72.00 avg.)
- Bentley Cotton (So., 74.19 avg.)
- Sophie Guo (Jr., 74.62 avg.)
- Brigitte Thibault (Grad., 75.87 avg.)
- Ashleigh Park (So., 77.33 avg.)
Inside the Texas Lineup
Sara Kouskova, Senior, Prague, Czech Republic (KOOS-co-VUH): No. 7 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings (released March 22) and No. 27 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings … currently 72-6 versus the top-100 ranked players (16-6 vs. top-25; 36-6 vs. top 50) … has a total of six top-25 finishes and three top-10 finishes on the 2021-22 season … placed in the top 10 for the second tournament in a row with a tied for 10th finish at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge (March 13-15) … finished in fifth at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Feb. 28-March 2) at even-par 213 (72-69-72) … ranked eighth in the first spring 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup rankings … finished tied for 26th at the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 15) at 10-over-par 226 (80-71-75) … received an invitation, and has accepted, to compete in the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateur March 30-April 2 in Augusta, Ga … tied for 12th at the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 29-31) at one-under-par 215 (72-73-70) … second at the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-17) at 12-under-par 201 (68-67-66) … tied her collegiate-best 18-hole score of 66 during the final round at Stanford (Oct. 17) … her three-round 201 marked the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history … tied for 15th at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Sept. 13-15) at even-par 216 (70-73-73) … tied for 19th at the Windy City Classic (Oct. 5) at nine-over-par 225 (77-70-78) … 2021 honorable mention All-American (WGCA and Golfweek) … six top-20 individual finishes in eight tournament appearances in the 2020-21 season … won the 2021 Arizona Wildcat Invitational … No. 27 in the final 2021 Golfstat individual national rankings … posted a 72.16 scoring average and shot par or better in 14 of her 25 rounds in 2020-21 … 2020-21 Edith Cummings Munson Award recipient (success on the course and in the classroom) … 2021 All-Big 12 Team.
Bentley Cotton, Sophomore, Austin, Texas: No. 132 in the latest Golfstat individual rankings and No. 311 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings … finished tied for 18th at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge (March 13-15), giving her a total of three top-20 finishes on the 2021-22 season … registered a collegiate-best tied for sixth-place finish at the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 15) at three-over-par 219 (72-70-77) … finished in 14th-place finish in the Windy City Classic (Oct. 5) … set her collegiate-best 18-hole score of 3-under-par 68 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 16) … four top-25 individual finishes in seven tournament appearances in the 2020-21 season … placed 17th at the East Lake Cup and tied for 18th at the Trinity Forest Invitational.
Sophie Guo, Junior, Orlando, Florida (GWOH): No. 169 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings and No. 151 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings … tied her season-best 18-hole score of three-under-par 69 in the first round of the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 14) … tied for 18th at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Sept. 13-15) at one-over-par 217 (74-73-70) … fired a season-best 18-hole score of two-under-par 69 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 16) … seven top-20 individual finishes in eight tournament appearances in the 2020-21 season … placed third at the East Lake Cup and seventh at the Mountain View Collegiate last year … tied for 20th place at the NCAA Championship … posted a 72.70 scoring average in 2020-21 … No. 66 in the final 2021 Golfstat individual national rankings … 2021 All-Big 12 Team.
Brigitte Thibault Graduate Student, Rosemere, Quebec, Canada (BRIDGE-it, TEE-bow): No. 218 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings … shot a one-under-par 70 (her lowest round as a Longhorn) during the first round of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Feb. 28-March 2) … graduate transfer from Fresno State … first player in Fresno State program history to advance to the NCAA Championship … earned her individual spot at the 2021 nationals with a tie for sixth place at the NCAA Stanford Regional, recording a 2-under 211 (70-73-68) … holds the Fresno State record for career scoring average (73.17) … three-time first-team All-Mountain West selection (2019, 2020, 2021) … posted four top-10 and seven top-15 individual finishes in the 2020-21 season … won the 2021 Rebel Beach Intercollegiate (Feb. 15-16) with a 4-under 212 (72-70-70) … competed at the 2021 Augusta National Women's Amateur … 2019 Mountain West Conference individual champion.
Ashleigh Park, Sophomore, Irvine, California: No. 196 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings … will make her second appearance of the 2021-22 season at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic (March 25-27) … finished tied for 44th in her 2021-22 season debut at the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 14-15)… six top-20 finishes in nine tournament appearances in the 2020-21 season, including three top-15 finishes and two top-10 finishes … placed fifth at the Wildcat Invitational and tied for ninth at the Mountain View Collegiate … set her collegiate-best 18-hole score of 6-under-par 66 in the first round of the Mountain View Collegiate, which is tied for the eighth-best 18-hole round in UT history … posted a 73.92 scoring average in 2020-21 … 2021 WGCA All-American Scholar … 2021 Big-12 Academic All-Rookie Team.
Players Mentioned
