University of Washington
NCAA Championships
Dawgs Off To Strong Start At NCAA Championships
May 23, 2015 | Women's Golf
Live Scoring | NCAA Championships Central
BRADENTON, Fla. – No. 7 Washington is underway at the NCAA Women's Golf Championships at The Concession Golf Club. The Dawgs held their own on a difficult golf course, shooting 13-over 301 to sit in a tie for sixth place with the afternoon wave suspended due to lightning.
“The course is the same for everybody, but it is really hard,” said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. “I was just really proud of the team today. They showed a lot of patience and a lot of poise.”
Par was definitely a good score as no team finished at even or better. No. 13 Stanford leads at 3-over, but they still have holes to play as part of the afternoon wave. No. 4 Duke is the leader in the clubhouse at 5-over 293, four shots better than No. 1 USC who is at 9-over. The Dawgs are tied for fourth with No. 12 Tennessee of the teams to have finished, one shot behind No. 5 Arizona who is at 12-over and also has finished. No. 18 Baylor is 7-over, also with several holes still to play.
“I am pleased, we had to count a couple of doubles and a couple three putts, but that on this golf course is pretty solid,” said Mulflur.”
Yang was just being Yang,” said Mulflur. “Just making pars and being smart.”
The Dawgs were led by Jennifer Yang, who shot 1-over 73. The Husky senior made three birdies and four bogeys on the day. Her consistent, focused style appears to be a good fit for a course that has seen the field make a lot of double bogeys or worse. Yang is currently tied for 13th, just five shots off the lead. Mariah Stackhouse of Stanford leads at 4-under, but still has five holes to play for her first round.
Also playing well for the Huskies was Charlotte Thomas, who shot 2-over 74. Thomas got off to a red-hot start, birdying three of the first four holes. With the Dawgs playing the back nine first, Thomas made a long birdie putt on the 10th and then converted when she hit it close on the 12th and 13th. Thomas would go on to make five bogeys on her second nine, but birdied the par-five seventh to finish at 2-over and tied for 23rd.
“Charlotte just came out on fire, then hit a little rough patch, but finished strong,” said Mulflur.
Eimi Koga had the opposite day as Thomas, getting off to a poor start, before playing her final 10 holes at 2-under par. After doubling her first holes, Koga made five-straight bogeys and headed to the ninth tee at 7-over and looking like her score would be the throw out. Instead, Koga birdied the ninth with a great approach from an awkward lie and then went on to make two birdies to one bogey on her second nine. Her approach on the par-three sixth was one of the shots of the day, leaving just a short birdie putt that she converted. Despite the miserable start, Koga is tied for 59th with many players yet to complete the first round.
The final score kept came from Ying Luo who birdied her final hole to also shoot 5-over 77. Luo came to the difficult par four ninth looking like the score that would not be used, but instead hit it close and converted the bogey, her third of the day. Luo is in that same tie for 59th as Koga after 18 holes.
Cyd Okino also got off to a rough start, but got things together to shoot 6-over 78. Although her score was thrown out, Okino did well to make 10-straight pars after a 4-over first four holes. Her birdie on the par-four eighth got her score to 4-over through 17, but a double on the final hole made her score the one cast aside. She is currently tied for 74th.
Washington will play in the afternoon on the second day of the NCAA Championships, once again paired with Arkansas and Texas A&M. Their tee times begin at noon local time or 9 a.m. in Seattle.
“We are not going to practice now, just go get out of the heat,” said Mulflur. “We need to keep our bodies fresh because this is only one day.”
Players Mentioned
