SMU’s Odwin Takes 3-shot Lead Over McKinney’s Brown, Temple’s Vital Takes Commanding Lead in Men’s Division of Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest
By: MARK KAZLOWSKI - Tuesday, November 12, 2024
DALLAS – SMU junior Emily Odwin will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest after shooting 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round.
McKinney’s Shyla Brown, 16, who shared the first-round lead with Odwin, is second after shooting a 1-under 70. Daniela Abonce (70) of UT-San Antonio and Kendall Jackson (67) of Howard are at 2-under. Odwin and Jackson had the best round among the women.
The second annual amateur invitational tournament features college age golfers or younger from diverse and historically underrepresented groups.
Odwin is at 8-under 134. Conditions were ideal for scoring with temperatures in the low 70s and a light breeze out of the southeast. Six of the 21 women finished at par or better.
SMU junior Emily Odwin tees of on #18 at Cedar Crest Golf Course in southern Dallas
Odwin had a one-shot lead on Brown at the turn after making a birdie on No. 9 for a 1-under 34. Odwin’s lead grew to three but shrank back to one after a two-shot swing on No. 15 when Brown made a birdie on the par-3 hole while Odwin made her lone back-nine bogey. Brown gave the shot back on 18 after driving into the trees right of the fairway, hitting her approach to the rough on the right side of the green and making a two-putt bogey while Odwin finished with a par.
“It started off pretty shaky,” Odwin said, “but I like to think I steadied the ship and got my head down and just kept going, so I’m pretty happy with it.”
Odwin, a native of Barbados who transferred from Texas, said she was inspired by having her SMU teammates on hand to see her chip in for a birdie and having associate head coach Carly Ludwig following her.
She said she would like to talk her teammates into playing at historic Cedar Crest with its tiny greens as a change of pace from the massive greens at the mostly treeless Trinity Forest Golf Club where the team trains.
“The two courses are very different,” she said, “and I definitely think there is something to be learned from playing here. I definitely think we can get better from playing out here.”
McKinney’s Shyla Brown stares down her drive on the final hole
Temple’s Vital leads men: Matthew Vital, a Temple sophomore from Bethlehem, Pa., takes a four-shot lead into the final round after shooting a 6-under 65. He is at 8-under 134. First-round leader Kci Lindskog (71) of Texas Southern is in a four-way tie for second with Marcus Smith Jr. (69) of Howard, Sascha Robinson (67) of Florida A&M and KJ Ofahengaue (65) of Utah Tech.
Vital had a clean card with six birdies and 12 pars. He even seemed a bit surprised by his play.
“It is unusual for me because I tend to hit my driver far but not too straight so I get into some spots,” Vital said. “Today when I was out of place I was able to convert those to pars so that was a big factor.”
Vital and Ofahenguaue, a cousin of PGA Tour member Tony Finau, shared the low round. Ofahengaue moved up six spots on the leaderboard.
Vital said birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 gave him momentum going into the back nine.
Matthew Vital, attending Temple University, leads by four going into final round
He said he plans to keep the same game plan Wednesday, not getting too aggressive or passive.
“I’ll keep doing what I’m doing,” he said.
Robinson had an adventurous front nine with three birdies and three bogeys. He was steadier on the back nine with four birdies and five pars. His goal for Wednesday is to hit more fairways.
“I feel confident in my iron game and wedge game that I can hit it close and make birdies,” he said.
Eight of the 21 players in the men’s field are under par.
Hole in One: Emily Mayne, a Howard sophomore from Jamaica, made a hole in one from 155 yards on No. 17. She shot 76 and is 8 over for the tournament. With a gentle breeze at her back, she chose an 8-iron over a 7-iron.
“I hit a baby fade, and it landed in the perfect spot,” she said. “I didn’t really realize it went in until I heard someone screaming.”
The prize for her third career ace is two tickets to a Dallas Cowboys game. She said she would probably give the tickets to her father.
Notable: Tee times will begin at 8:50 a.m. Wednesday. The times will alternate between women’s threesomes and men’s threesomes. The last group of women, which includes the leader, tees off at 11:26. The men’s leaders tee off at 11:38. … The Golf Channel broadcast will be from 1:30 to 4:30. … No. 18 played as the toughest hole for the women with a scoring average of 4.62. For the men, No. 5 was the toughest at 4.38.
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