Oklahoma City – The UBC Thunderbirds find themselves in familiar territory atop the leaderboard while just halfway through a weather delayed opening round of the NAIA Women's Golf National Championships at Lincoln Park West Golf Club.
After rain washed out Tuesday's scheduled opening round forcing a format switch to a 54-hole tournament the T-Birds teed off in the second grouping late Wednesday afternoon and currently sit in first place at -1 overall after play was suspended due to darkness at 8:20 p.m. CT. (6:20 p.m PT).
UBC enters the Championships looking to extend their perfect season to date having won 10 consecutive tournaments and lay claim to an early three stroke lead over three schools, including Oklahoma City University, Savannah College and Menlo College, who sit tied for second spot at +2.
Sonja Tang set the early pace for the 'Birds with a team best -3 (43) through just 11 holes to sit in a 10-way tie for third spot on the individual player leaderboard. Her steady play included shooting par on eight of those holes while also claiming two birdies and one bogie.
Not far down the leaderboard three-more T-Birds, Elizabeth Labbe, Emily Li and Shania Remandaban all finished even through 10 holes and are part of a cluster of 12 players tied in 13
th spot. Meanwhile Grace Bell rounds out the UBC competitors and sits at +1 through 10 holes alongside a group of 14 players tied in 25
th spot.
The players left on the course on Wednesday evening will resume their first-round play Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m. CT. (5:00 a.m. PT) and then will play continuously into the second round.