By: MARK KAZLOWSKI - Monday, Nov. 11, 2024
DALLAS -- SMU junior Emily Odwin and McKinney teenager Shyla Brown each shot 4-under 67s Monday to take the first-round lead in the Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest.
They hold a one-shot lead in the women’s division over Emma Henningsson, a South Dakota junior from Sweden.
For Odwin, it was a remarkable comeback. She was 3 over after making a triple-bogey 7 on the No. 8. She responded with five consecutive birdies on her way to a back-nine 30.
“I just felt really good out there,” Odwin said of her back-nine performance. “I felt like it was swinging solidly and giving myself good looks. They just so happened to keep dropping. I can’t really complain too much about it.”
Odwin was in the last group. With no scoreboards on the course, she didn’t know how she was faring against the other 20 women in the field until she finished and got a text from her mother.
Emily Odwin, a junior attending SMU, makes a back-nine charge
Brown, a 16-year-old home-schooled junior, finished second a year ago. She shot 33-34 with three birdies and a bogey on each nine. She practices at Trinity Forest where SMU men and women train. She and Odwin played a practice round together in the spring.
“I think my putter was pretty hot,” Brown said. “I scored on some scoreable holes and par 5s. My putter was doing a lot of the work today.”
Brown, who has committed to Texas, said she is not fazed by playing with college-aged players. “I play with a lot of these girls in amateur events, so I don’t really find it intimidating but it’s more fun.”
Shyla Brown is all smiles being tied for the 1st round lead
Henningsson, who shot a course-record 63 in the second round last year, made an eagle on the 475-yard par-5 16th. Her drive hit the cart path, giving her a 100-yard approach, which she hit to 5 feet.
“That was a very fortunate bounce from the cart path, which I’m grateful for,” she said, smiling.
Marley Franklin of Howard and Daniela Abonce of UT-San Antonio were the only other players in the woman’s field to break par. They were at 1 under.
Texas Southern senior leads men’s field: Kci Lindskog, a Texas Southern senior from Indonesia, shot a 4-under 67 to take a two-shot lead over Matthew Vital of Temple and Marcus Smith Jr. of Howard in the men’s competition. Smith is a TicTok sensation with nearly 500,000 followers.
Lindskog, whose first name is pronounced “Casey”, had six birdies and two bogeys. He finished tied for 13th last year. That result is influencing his mindset this year.
“It’s a different game plan. I played more aggressively this year,” Lindskog said. “I think I’m going to continue that for the next two days. It worked out for me today. Hopefully it continues to work the next two days.”
Kci Lindscog, from Indonesia and attending Texas Southern, fired a 4-under 67
Jayden Lizama, a high school senior from Elk Grove, Calif., and Rashon Williams, a senior from Southern Utah, were tied for fourth at 1 under. They were the only other players in the men’s field to break par.
North Texas ties: Morgan Horrell, who played at Hebron is tied for seventh at 1-over 72; Malisone Chanthapanya, a UNT senior who played at Saginaw, is tied for 17th at 4-over 75; Kennedi Lee, who played at Mansfield Lake Ridge, was 21st after shooting 10-over 81; Xavier Bighaus, who played at Melissa, is tied for 10th at 3-over.
Toughest hole: The short par-4 No. 8 proved to be the most difficult for men and women. The hole played 289 yards for the women with an average score of 4.71. It played 315 yard for the men with an average score of 315.
Two crowns vacated: The tournament will have two new champions. Gregory Odom Jr., the 2023 men’s champion from Howard, has turned pro and is heading to the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying. Allyn Stephens, the women’s champion from Tulsa University, withdrew and was replaced by Trinity Ahing from North Carolina Central.
Former pro opens tournament: Leonard Jones, the former general manager and head professional at Cedar Crest, hit the ceremonial first tee shot to open the tournament. He was followed by Charles Sifford Jr., the son of Charles Sifford, the first Black player on the PGA Tour who is considered the Jackie Robinson of pro golf. Odom and Zoe Slaughter, the first Black female golfer at Texas A&M, followed. Slaughter will begin her quest to earn a Ladies European Tour card at pre-qualifying event in Morocco in December.
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