Oct. 14, 2009
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -
Final Round Results in PDF Format
San Diego State women's golfer Christine Wong (Richmond, B.C.) shot a 3-under-par 69 in Wednesday's final round to capture medalist honors by four strokes at the Price's Give `Em Five Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M. Wong's three-day total of 10-under 206 blew away the previous SDSU individual school record by five strokes and she becomes the first Aztec to win a 54-hole event since 2003.
Wong entered the day at the par-73, 6,319-yard NMSU Golf Course with a five-stroke lead over Baylor's Hannah Burke and ended the tournament with a four-stroke advantage over Idaho's Kayla Mortellaro, who was at 6-under 210. Wong, who was one of only three golfers in the 94-participant field to finish under par, fired three-consecutive sub-70 rounds (69-68-69) with 12 total birdies and 40 total pars. She beat her previous collegiate best for a 54-hole event by 14 strokes.
"Christine didn't make a lot of mistakes," SDSU head coach Emilee Klein said. "Her scorecard was pretty (clean) with 12 birdies, including three today. She struck the ball really well and made sure to stay consistent through the final round."
Wong's tournament-ending performance Wednesday was just a part of what was a record-setting round for San Diego State. The Aztecs combined for a 3-under 285 over the final 18 holes, the best round by any team at the 2009 Price's Give `Em Five Invite and the lowest score by SDSU in the Mountain West Conference era (since 2000).
"The team played outstanding today," Klein said. "They dug in hard and really played their hearts out and it showed."
The Aztecs, who entered the round 12 strokes off the lead, finished in third place overall, nine strokes in back of No. 32 Idaho, which won the tournament with a 7-over 871. SDSU, which is ranked 54th nationally, trailed second place and No. 35 UC Irvine by only two strokes and finished ahead of both No. 38 Baylor (t-4th) and No. 15 Arizona (6th) with a 16-over 880. The 54-hole total ranks second in school history behind only the 878 carded by the 2003 squad at the Lady Aztec Invitational.
Three San Diego State players posted their best scores in the tournament on Wednesday, including sophomore Malin Enarsson (Gothenburg, Sweden), who moved from 16th into a tie for ninth with a 4-over 220, highlighted by a final round even-par 72 and 10 birdies over the three days.
Junior Stephanie Arcala (Oceanside, Calif.) made an even more dramatic rise in the standings, jumping 23 spots with the help of her 1-under 71 to finish in a tie for 36th place at 11-over 227. Not to be outdone, classmate Samantha Roberts (Carlsbad, Calif.) had her first collegiate hole in one to card a 73 and placed 46th overall at 13-over 229.
Senior Petra Cole (San Diego, Calif.) rounded out the Aztec contingent with an 81 in the final 18 holes to tie for 88th place with a 244.
San Diego State will conclude its 2009 fall slate in Kahuku, Hawaii, when the team travels to the Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational, Nov. 2-4.
Price's Give `Em Five Invitational (Las Cruces, N.M.)
Oct. 12-14 - 54 Holes - NMSU Golf Course (Par-72, 6,319 yards)
Team Scoring (Includes top 5 teams of 18)
1 Idaho 296-287-288-871 (+7)
2 UC Irvine 294-290-294-878 (+14)
3 San Diego State 300-295-285-880 (+16)
4 Baylor 303-294-297-894 (+30)
Fresno State 298-297-299-894 (+30)
Top Five Individuals (Out of 94 players)
1 Christine Wong, SDSU 69-68-69-206 (-10)
2 Kayla Mortellaro, Idaho 73-70-67-210 (-6)
3 Hillary Packard, UC Irvine 73-71-71-215 (-1)
4 Joy Trotter, UC Irvine 69-74-74-217 (+1)
5 Hali Coppin, Fresno St. 74-73-71-218 (+2)
San Diego State
1 Christine Wong 69-68-69-206 (-10)
T9 Malin Enarsson 75-73-72-220 (+4)
T36 Stephanie Arcala 81-75-71-227 (+11)
T46 Samantha Roberts 75-81-73-229 (+13)
T88 Petra Cole 84-79-81-244 (+28)