Oct. 24, 2011
Led by junior Christine Wong, the San Diego State women's golf squad is in second place after the first round of the 54-hole Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown Monday in Boulder City, Nev. The Aztecs posted a season-low 8-under 280 to finish one stroke ahead of third place Pepperdine and three behind day-one leader and No. 21 ranked UC Davis at the par-72, 6,329-yard Boulder Creek Golf Club.
Wong is in second place out of 89 golfers on the individual leaderboard, utilizing a career-low round of 5-under 67. The Richmond, B.C., native had six birdies, including a remarkable streak of five in a row on holes six through 10. Wong also had 11 pars and tallied only one bogey to beat her previous career low of 68, which she fired as a freshman on a par-73 course at the Price's Give `Em Five Invitational in 2009. The 67 is the best 18 holes by an Aztec since Stephanie Arcala posted a 67 at the Kent Youel Invitational in 2008.
Fellow SDSU junior Gina Clark (Murrieta, Calif.) also had a solid day-one effort with her 3-under 69, highlighted by an eagle on the 13th hole. Clark's 69 was her second sub-70 round of the season, trailing only her career-low 68 at the season-opening Dick McGuire Invitational.
Aztec freshman Amy Alston (Mission Viejo, Calif.) leads the entire field in par-5 scoring at 4-under and is currently tied for 25th place with teammate senior Malin Enarsson (Gothenberg, Sweden) at even par. Alston offset her five bogeys with five birdies, while Enarsson was a bit more consistent with 10 pars, four bogeys and four birdies, including one on the 18th hole.
San Diego State sophomore Tessa The (Los Altos, Calif.) was at 1-under through the first nine holes, but then carded two double bogeys and two bogeys for a 5-over 77 to tie her for 65th place.
Pepperdine's Grace Na had a field-best nine birdies to go with 11 pars and no bogeys for an unreal 9-under 63 and a four-stroke advantage. Idaho's Kayla Mortellaro and two UC Davis players are tied for third place as 24 golfers were under par through the first 18 holes.
The second round of the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown will begin Tuesday for the Aztecs at 8:50 a.m. PT from the first hole. SDSU will be paired with UC Davis and Pepperdine. Live results are available on golfstat.com.
Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown
Boulder City, Nev., Oct. 24-26, 2011
Boulder Creek Golf Club - Par 72, 6,329 yards
Results Through 18 Holes
Team Scoring (Top 5 teams out of 16)
1 No. 21 UC Davis 277 (-11)2 No. 37 San Diego State 280 (-8)3 No. 41 Pepperdine 281 (-7)4 UC Irvine 286 (-2) Idaho 286 (-2)
Individuals (Top 5 Individuals out of 89)1 Grace Na, Pepperdine 63 (-9)2 Christine Wong, SDSU 67 (-5)3 Kayla Mortellaro, Idaho 68 (-4) Bev Vatananugulkit, UC Davis 68 (-4) Amy Simanton, UC Davis 68 (-4)
Other San Diego State GolfersT6 Gina Clark 69 (-3)T25 Amy Alston 72 (E)T25 Malin Enarsson 72 (E)T65 Tessa The 77 (+5)