UA women looking to tame OSU course

FAYETTEVILLE — Taming the notorious Scarlet Course at Ohio State University is the aim of the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks women’s golf team for the next three days.

The Scarlet Course, redesigned by Ohio State alumnus Jack Nicklaus in 2006, is the setting for the NCAA Columbus Regional, one of four to tee off today around the country. The top six finishers at each of the regionals will square off at the NCAA championships, which will be held May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

The Scarlet Course has a wealth of challenges, beginning with tight fairways and lots of troublesome trees, as well as slick, fast greens.

“We’ve been working really hard on some of the things we’re going to see up in Columbus, par-3 yardages, fast, sloping greens, tee balls,” said Arkansas Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor, who has guided the Razorbacks to 10 consecutive NCAA regional appearances.

“It’s pretty tight driving, with tree-lined fairways, so we’re trying to be very specific with our targets. If you drive it poorly, you put big numbers

into play.”

The Razorbacks are led by junior Alana Uriell, a second-team All-SEC choice who has a team-best 72.04 stroke average. Uriell and sophomore Kaylee Benton (73.32) tied for seventh at the SEC championships two weeks ago.

Sophomores Maria Fassi and Cara Gorlei and senior Summar Roachell are expected to round out the Arkansas lineup.

The Razorbacks will face five other opponents ranked in the top 25, including SEC champion and No. 6 Florida, No. 5 Florida State and No. 14 South Carolina.

“We’re going to go there with the intention of wining a regional,” Estes-Taylor said.