Monday, April 24
Tucson, AZ
All Day
University of Washington
at
Pac-12 Championships
Keh Tied for Sixth After Round One of Pac-12s; UW in Seventh
April 24, 2017 | Women's Golf
TUCSON, Arizona – In blustering windy conditions, the University of Washington women's golf team opened up the 2017 Pac-12 Championships on Monday, placing seventh with a 20-over 308 following the first 18 holes at the Sewailo Golf Club. The 54-hole tournament, which spans three days, is being hosted by the University of Arizona. Sophomore Wenyung Keh led the charge for UW as she currently tied for sixth.
Due to the windy conditions that provided gusts upwards of 30 miles per hour, not one team was able to record an under-par round. No. 3 UCLA leads the 11-team field with a 2-under 290 while No. 21 Colorado and No. Stanford are tied for second (8-over 296).
"It was really tough out there today due to the conditions," said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. "Playing a round in consistently strong winds is both mentally and physically exhausting and that's why you saw the scores you did across the board. I thought our guys battled and made some adjustments but we have to come out more prepared tomorrow because the conditions are going to be the same."
The Huskies opened the day on the tougher side of the course, starting on hole 10 and came out of those first nine holes in 10th place. They were able to respond and take advantage of a slightly easier front nine to climb up to their seventh place finish after day one. UW closed the day with all four scoring players birding at least one of the final three holes to go along with no blemishes in that span either.
"I think it was good for our confidence to finish on the front nine, because that back nine was just so tough today," added Mulflur. "We're a young group but we'll regroup tonight, talk about what we can do to attack the wind and hopefully come out tomorrow trusting ourselves a little more."
Keh led the Huskies in the first round as she sits tied for sixth, thanks to two birdies over her final eight holes. The sophomore closed the first 18 with a 2-over 74, which is currently just three strokes off the lead held by UCLA's Lilia Vu and Bethany Wu.
Following her was freshman Ellen Takada who is tied for 14th at 3-over 75. Takada opened the day with a double bogey on her first hole but then went just 1-over par during the next 18 holes to earn her top 15 placement heading into the second round of the tournament. She carded two birdies over her final five holes to finish even par on the front nine.
"Wenyung and Ellen both played really well today," said Mulflur. "Both of those score were essentially the equivalent of shooting under par in those conditions. Ellen was really impressive to open with a double bogey and then finish by just going 1-over during the final 17 holes in that wind."
Sophomore Julianne Alvarez also found herself in the top 30 after Monday's opening go as she is tied for 27th following a 6-over 78. Despite starting with a double on the first hole, one of three Huskies to do so, Alvarez closed the day strong with birdies on two of her last three and went par on 11 of the day's 18.
Rounding out the scoring on Monday for UW was freshman Karen Miyamoto who had had one of the more up and down rounds for the Dawgs. After opening the day with a birdie, Miyamoto had a triple bogey on hole three and ended up finishing her first nine at 6-over. She responded with a 3-over to close the day as she went one-under over her final four holes. She currently sits tied for 44th at 9-over 81.
Also competing for UW was sophomore Sarah Rhee who carded an 11-over 83 during her first round which featured three birdies over her final five holes.
Washington continues action at the Pac-12 Championships on Tuesday morning, teeing off at 8 a.m., once again on the 10th hole alongside California.
Due to the windy conditions that provided gusts upwards of 30 miles per hour, not one team was able to record an under-par round. No. 3 UCLA leads the 11-team field with a 2-under 290 while No. 21 Colorado and No. Stanford are tied for second (8-over 296).
"It was really tough out there today due to the conditions," said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. "Playing a round in consistently strong winds is both mentally and physically exhausting and that's why you saw the scores you did across the board. I thought our guys battled and made some adjustments but we have to come out more prepared tomorrow because the conditions are going to be the same."
The Huskies opened the day on the tougher side of the course, starting on hole 10 and came out of those first nine holes in 10th place. They were able to respond and take advantage of a slightly easier front nine to climb up to their seventh place finish after day one. UW closed the day with all four scoring players birding at least one of the final three holes to go along with no blemishes in that span either.
"I think it was good for our confidence to finish on the front nine, because that back nine was just so tough today," added Mulflur. "We're a young group but we'll regroup tonight, talk about what we can do to attack the wind and hopefully come out tomorrow trusting ourselves a little more."
Keh led the Huskies in the first round as she sits tied for sixth, thanks to two birdies over her final eight holes. The sophomore closed the first 18 with a 2-over 74, which is currently just three strokes off the lead held by UCLA's Lilia Vu and Bethany Wu.
Following her was freshman Ellen Takada who is tied for 14th at 3-over 75. Takada opened the day with a double bogey on her first hole but then went just 1-over par during the next 18 holes to earn her top 15 placement heading into the second round of the tournament. She carded two birdies over her final five holes to finish even par on the front nine.
"Wenyung and Ellen both played really well today," said Mulflur. "Both of those score were essentially the equivalent of shooting under par in those conditions. Ellen was really impressive to open with a double bogey and then finish by just going 1-over during the final 17 holes in that wind."
Sophomore Julianne Alvarez also found herself in the top 30 after Monday's opening go as she is tied for 27th following a 6-over 78. Despite starting with a double on the first hole, one of three Huskies to do so, Alvarez closed the day strong with birdies on two of her last three and went par on 11 of the day's 18.
Rounding out the scoring on Monday for UW was freshman Karen Miyamoto who had had one of the more up and down rounds for the Dawgs. After opening the day with a birdie, Miyamoto had a triple bogey on hole three and ended up finishing her first nine at 6-over. She responded with a 3-over to close the day as she went one-under over her final four holes. She currently sits tied for 44th at 9-over 81.
Also competing for UW was sophomore Sarah Rhee who carded an 11-over 83 during her first round which featured three birdies over her final five holes.
Washington continues action at the Pac-12 Championships on Tuesday morning, teeing off at 8 a.m., once again on the 10th hole alongside California.
Players Mentioned
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