The 14-team conference field will be challenged by a 6,045-yard, par-71 layout in Pennsylvania. Action tees off with the opening round on Friday, April 21 at 7:30 a.m. (CT), before Saturday’s second round also gets underway at 7:30 a.m. (CT). Sunday’s final round is set for a 7 a.m. (CT) start.
No. 13 Northwestern enters the tournament as the favorite, while No. 30 Ohio State, No. 33 Maryland, No. 35 Michigan State, No. 37 Michigan, No. 43 Purdue and No. 48 Nebraska put seven Big Ten teams among the top 50 in the Golfweek national rankings.
Live scoring for the six-count-four tournament will be available through GolfStat.com.
True freshman Kelli Ann Strand (Challis, Idaho) continues to lead Nebraska with a team-best 71.72 stroke average, which is on pace for a school record. She owns six top-10 finishes and 18 rounds better than par this season. She heads to the Big Ten Championship ranked among the top 115 players nationally by both Golfweek and GolfStat.
Graduate student Megan Whittaker expects to compete in her fourth and final Big Ten Championship. Whittaker tied for 18th at the 2021 conference tournament, before adding a tie for 33rd at last year’s event. Whittaker owns a career-best 73.14 stroke average this season, which has helped her to top 250 national rankings in both Golfweek and GolfStat. She owns five top-20 showings on the year.
Miu Takahashi has matched Whittaker’s stroke average with an identical 73.14 average over 32.5 rounds. Takahashi won the Dale McNamara individual title and owns four top-10 finishes on the year. The sophomore from Nasu-Machi, Japan is ranked among the top 250 players in NCAA Division I by Golfweek.
Juniors Lindsey Thiele (74.62), Michaela Vavrova (75.53) and Andrea Velez (76.77) round out Nebraska’s six-count-four lineup at the Lady Buckeye. Vavrova will be making her third appearance at the Big Ten Championship including a tie for 17th at last year’s tournament. She also tied for 33rd to help the Big Red to a runner-up team finish in 2021.
Thiele will be playing at the conference tournament for the second time, joining an appearance as a freshman in 2021.
Velez will be making her first championship appearance after taking second among the Huskers at the Lady Buckeye Invitational.
Big Ten Championship
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Fox Chapel Golf Club (Par 71/6,045…
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