OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The coaches asked by the national golf magazines prior to Tuesday’s first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship all predicted that 300 (12-over par) would be a good daily score over the tough Caves Valley Golf Course.
Just three of 24 teams were under 300 on the first day thanks to near perfect weather conditions and the LSU Lady Tigers put themselves in a good position despite a little bit of a struggle in the final moments of the round that left LSU in a tie for fifth at 14-over 302.
“You have to keep everything in perspective in this tournament because it is over four days and 72 holes,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “You can’t win it on the first day, but you can lose any chance on the first day and we certainly didn’t do that.”
LSU, playing first in the afternoon wave, after a morning segment played in cold, windy conditions that send scores soaring, found itself with some of the best teams in the nation in much warmer, calm conditions.
It showed early as LSU got off to a strong start, playing what is considered the tougher nine holes (10-18), as the seventh-ranked Lady Tigers turned at four-over par.
LSU hung between four and eight over par for the next couple of hours as they moved to through the front nine going from as high as second in the standings to 10th before finishing in fifth by evening’s end.
The Lady Tigers hiccup in the round came in the final three holes of the day, a par 5 of 496 yards, the par 3 eighth (185 yards with water greenside) and the 385-yard ninth with trouble on both sides of the fairway. LSU had three bogeys on the seventh, two on the eighth and three on the ninth, most of what added up to a 10-over final nine holes on the opening journey on a course that has heavy rough and greens that are lightening quick with big, often hidden breaks.
“I feel like the girls really did a good job for the majority of the round playing within themselves and staying within the moment, not letting a bad shot carry over from one ot the next,” said Bahnsen. “But for whatever reason we got out of rhythm in the last three holes. The main thing is we will keep learning the golf course and get better the next round. They are upset about how they finished and they probably won’t do that again.”
It should be a familiar situation for the LSU team after shooting a round that dropped them down a bit in the first round of the West Regional, the Lady Tigers came storming back with rounds of even par and three under par.
No. 14 Denver proved to be the best on opening day as the surprise winners of the NCAA East Regional came out with a six-over par 294, two shots better than second-ranked UCLA at eight-over 296. The two teams were playing together in the opening round. Tenth-ranked North Carolina was the only other team under 300 at 299 and in solo third. Carolina was the low round of the morning wave. Southern Cal, the defending national champion, is third at 13-over 301.
LSU is tied with No. 1 ranked Arizona State, the heavy preseason tournament favorites as defending individual champion Azahara Munoz shot six-over 78.
Sophomore first-team All-SEC performer Megan McChrystal and freshman Jacqueline Hedwall both shot two-over 74 on the opening day. Hedwall made a nice-recovery to get her round back to two-over after a triple-bogey seven on her 11th hole of the day, the par 4 second. She had four birdies and played the par fives in one-under, while McChrystal had three birdies in her round. The pair are tied for 12th in the individual standings
Six players shot even or better with Catherine O’Donnell of North Carolina and Stephanie Sherlock of Denver tied for second at two-under par 70. Four players shot even par 72.
LSU also had a 76 from sophomore Amalie Valle and six-over 78s from senior Caroline Martens and freshman Tessa Teachman.
The average score on the first day was 77.92 for the 126 rounds. Two of the holes that LSU struggled on proved to be two of the tougher of the first day as the ninth hole played the toughest of all at 0.62 strokes over par and the eighth was the fourth toughest at 0.49 strokes over par. The two final par fours coming home, the 16th and 18th, both tied for second toughest at 0.54 strokes over.
Tulane, playing in their first NCAA Tournament since Katrina interrupted their women’s golf program, played in the windier morning wave, and the 27th-ranked Green Wave is tied for 17th at 24-over 312. Conference USA Player of the Year Linn Gustafsson struggled to an 81, while the low round for the Green Wave was the four-over 76 of Janine Fellows.
Wednesday the teams will switch waves with those playing in the afternoon Tuesday going to the morning wave and those in the AM going to the PM. LSU will play again with Tennessee and Wake Forest in the opening wave of the morning session off the first hole at 8 a.m. (EDT). Live scoring for the second round will be available at LSUsports.net through Golfstat.com.
NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
Caves Valley Golf Course ? Owings Mills, Md.
First Round Team Results (Par 288)
1. Denver 294 +6; 2. UCLA 296 +8; 3. North Carolina 299 +11; 4. Southern California 301 +13; 5. LSU 302 +14; 5. Arizona State 302 +14; 7. Oklahoma State 303 +15; 7. Wake Forest 303 +15; 9. Virginia 305 +17; 9. Alabama 305 +17; 11. Purdue 306 +18; 12. Michigan State 307 +19; 12. Tennessee 307 +19; 14. Duke 308 +20; 15. Arizona 310 +22; 16. New Mexico 311 +23; 17. Pepperdine 312 +24; 17. Tulane 312 +24; 19. Texas 314 +26; 19. TCU 314 +26; 21. UT Chattanooga 316 +28; 21. Georgia 316 +28; 23. UC Irvine 320 +32; 24. Ohio State 323 +35.
First Round Individual Top 10 (Par 72)
1. Catherine O’Donnell, North Carolina, 70 -2; 1. Stephanie Sherlock, Denver, 70 -2; 3. Stephanie Connelly, UCF, 72 E; 3. Ginny Brown, Tennessee, 72 E; 3. Nannette Hill, Wake Forest 72 E; 3. Jennifer Song, Southern California, 72 E; 7. Lindsey Solberg, Michigan State, 73 +1; 7. Britney Choy, New Mexico, 73 +1; 7. Ellie Givens, Denver, 73 +1; 7. Allie Bodemann, Wake Forest, 73 +1; 7. Stephanie Kono, UCLA, 73 +1.
LSU Scores
T12. Jacqueline Hedwall 74 +2
T12. Megan McChrystal 74 +2
T38. Amalie Valle 76 +4
T60. Tessa Teachman 78 +6
T60. Caroline Martens 78 +6