TEMPE, Ariz. — The eighth-ranked LSU women’s golf team will try to learn from the lessons from the opening day tour of the ASU Karsten Golf Course and put them to use when they tee off late Friday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA West Women’s Regional event.
The Lady Tigers shot right on their team average with a seven-over 295, but find themselves six shots out of what would be the final qualifying spot for the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship. The top eight teams in the 21-team field advance at the end of the 54-hole tournament on Saturday.
It looked like the qualifying number would be three over par or even six but lower seed and late afternoon starters Texas A&M and Texas were able to post strong final nines to claim a spot in the top eight after the first 18 holes.
But home course advantage really paid off for Arizona State as they one of the best single rounds in regional history, certainly close to topping the 16-under that the top-ranked Duke team shot in Baton Rouge earlier in the decade at the University Club in the East Regional. Arizona State shot 15-under 273 with all five golfers under par and dropping a one-under 71 score in the play five, count four format.
LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen feels playing with Arizona State and playing the course now two days in a row will help them tremendously through the final two rounds.
“We really were right there,” said Bahnsen in analyzing the round. “We just didn’t have a lot of chances close to make some putts. It was the second time we’ve played this course and a lot of people I’ve talked to have told me the more familiar you are with the course, the better it is and they said it is especially true here. It was good for us to be able to play with Arizona State and watch them. That was very impressive.”
The Lady Tigers put together consistent scores almost from top to bottom paced by freshman Jacqueline Hedwall. Hedwall, ranked 72nd in the Golfstat rankings in the country, had an even par round of 35-37 ? 72 with three bogeys and three birdies, to stand in a large group tied for 17th.
Belinda Mozo of Southern California is the individual leader at six-under 66. In all 31 golfers shot even par or under on the first day.
The Tigers also counted two over scores of 74 from Amalie Valle and Megan McChrystal and Caroline Martens shot 75. Tessa Teachman posted 76, despite battling a minor illness during the round.
“The heat probably got to Tessa in the end,” said Bahnsen of the 100 degree temperatures the round finished in. “But we play late (Friday) so she and the girls will get to sleep in and we’ll be ready to go Friday afternoon.”
Following Arizona State in the present top eight are: Arizona, Texas and Texas A&M tied for second at even par with Arkansas, TCU, UC-Irvine and Southern California tied for fifth at one-over. In front of LSU are California at three-over and San Francisco and Pepperdine at six-over.
The Lady Tigers, with Arizona State and Southern California will start on the back nine Friday in the final wave of the day beginning at 1 p.m. local time (3 p.m. CDT). Live scoring for the event can be found at LSUsports.net through Golfstat.com.
NCAA West Regional
First Round Team Results (par 288)
1. Arizona State 273 -15; 2. Arizona 288 E; 2. Texas 288 E; 2. Texas A&M 288 E; 5. Arkansas 289 +1; 5. TCU 289 +1; 5. UC-Irvine 289 +1; 5. Southern California 289 +1; 9. California 291 +3; 10. San Francisco 294 +9; 10. Pepperdine 294 +6; 12. LSU 295 +7; 13. San Jose State 299 +11; 13. UNLV 299 +11; 13. Northern Arizona 299 +11; 13. Oregon 299 +11; 13. Baylor 299 +11; 19. Colorado 309 +21; 20. Oral Roberts 312 +24; 20. Oral Roberts 315 +27.
Top 5 Individuals (Par 72)
1.Belen Mozo, Southern California, 66 -6; 2. Jane Chin, UC Irvine, 67 -5; 2. Carlota Ciganda, Arizona State, 67 -5; 4. Allison Goodman, California, 68 -4; 4. Juliana Murcia, Arizona State, 68 -4.
LSU Scores
T17. Jacqueline Hedwall 72 E
T44. Amalie Valle 74 +2
T44. Megan McChrystal 74 +2
T54. Caroline Martens 75 +3
T67. Tessa Teachman 76 +4