March 6, 2012
San Diego State junior Christine Wong won her second individual title of the season by maintaining her day one lead, finishing at the top of the 80-golfer field with a 54-hole total of 3-over 219, including a final-round 78, on Tuesday at the Bruin Wave Invitational in Tarzana, Calif. Wong won by four strokes over second-place Alina Ching of Pepperdine, while also placing ahead of five golfers ranked in the national top-20 at the par-72, 6,131 El Caballero Country Club.
Wong also claimed medalist honors this past fall at the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate in early October and has now won four times in her decorated Aztec career. The field battled cool and windy conditions as the average round soared to over 81. Wong started the morning with four consecutive pars before double bogeying the par-4 fifth hole. On the back nine, the Richmond, B.C., native notched two birdies, three pars and four bogeys to card a 6-over 78, increasing her 36-hole lead from two to four strokes.
As a team, San Diego State slipped from fourth to fifth with a 62-over 926, including a final-round 319. Two other Aztecs placed in the top 35, including senior Malin Enarsson (Gothenburg, Sweden), who tied for 23rd with a 234, and junior Gina Clark (Murrieta, Calif.), who tied for 31st with a 235, including the team's second sub-80 round of the day.
SDSU freshman Amy Alston (Murrieta, Calif.) dropped from 44th into a tie for 50th with an 85, while junior Alessia Knight (Bologna, Italy) climbed five spots on the individual leaderboard into 65th with her final-round 81. In addition, redshirt freshman Kristina Lynn (Carlsbad, Calif.), who was competing as an individual in her first collegiate event, tied for 55th with an 87 to post a 29-over 245.
Tournament co-host Pepperdine won the team title by three strokes over fellow co-host and top-ranked UCLA with a 39-over 903, despite logging a 315 in the final 18 holes.
San Diego State gets back to action on March 18-20, when it plays host to its lone tournament of the season at the second annual Battle at Rancho Bernardo at Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort.