Sept. 16, 2014
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - San Diego State's Sirene Blair (South Jordan, Utah) fired a 3-under-par 70 on Tuesday to lead the Aztec women's golf team during the final round of the 36th annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational at UNM Championship Course. With her effort, the SDSU sophomore completed the tournament in a three-way tie for third place at 5-under 214, matching her finish at the same event a year ago.
Collectively, the Aztecs posted the second-lowest score of the final round with a 286, vaulting into fifth place at 10-over 886 on the par-73, 6,192-yard track. SDSU ended the day just three strokes behind fourth-place Pepperdine (+7) and four shots in back of UC Davis (+6) for third place, while Northwestern (-8) cruised to the team title comfortably ahead of runner-up UNLV (E).
Blair recorded just one blemish on her scorecard Tuesday, offsetting a bogey on the par-5 No. 14 with four birdies en route to a final-round 70 to tie Julie Yang of Oklahoma State and Northwestern's Hannah Kim on the individual leaderboard. With her total, the 2013-14 Mountain West Freshman of the Year logged her second straight top-five result and fourth overall as a collegian, climbing two spots to finish four strokes behind medalist Dana Finkelstein of UNLV (-9), while Northwestern's Suc Tangkamolpresart (-6) took second.
Blair was one of four Aztec starters to card a score of par or lower on Tuesday, including Emma Henrikson (Malmö, Sweden), who shot a 72 as well. After suffering a combined seven bogeys and a double-bogey during the first two rounds, the SDSU junior played steady golf over the final 18 holes, draining two birdies against one bogey to jump nine places into a tie for 25th at 4-over 223.
In addition, Paige Spiranac (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished the tournament one shot in back of Henrikson in the 27th position at 5-over 224, followed closely by Mila Chaves (Asuncion, Paraguay), who landed in a tie for 34th with a combined 6-over 225.
Spiranac started fast with a pair of birdies on her first three holes, but a trio of bogeys over a nine-hole stretch sandbagged her momentum. Still, the Aztec senior closed with a rush, sinking a birdie and three straight pars to finish with a 73.
Meanwhile, SDSU's biggest improvement belonged to Chaves, who catapulted 24 spots on the leaderboard after posting a season-low 71. The Aztec freshman carded four birdies on the day, highlighted by back-to-back conversions on Nos. 10-11.
SDSU's starting lineup also featured freshman Georgia Lacey (Del Mar, Calif.), who shaved 11 strokes off her second-round total with a 75 on Tuesday to finish the tournament in 87th at 244.
Elsewhere, the Scarlet and Black was represented by Haleigh Krause (Eugene, Ore.), another freshman who posted her lowest score of the week with a final-round 76 to tie for the 60th position at 14-over 233 as an unattached golfer.
San Diego State will have nearly three-and-a-half weeks off from competition before returning to the fairways for the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, scheduled for Oct. 12-14, in Austin, Texas.
Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire InvitationalFinal ResultsUNM Championship CourseAlbuquerque, N.M.Par 73, 6,192 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 16 schools)1. Northwestern 290-289-289--868 (-8)2. UNLV 289-294-293--876 (E)3. UC Davis 292-298-292--882 (+6)4. Pepperdine 302-296-285--883 (+7)5. San Diego State 304-296-286--886 (+10)-----Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 92 individuals + SDSU)1. Dana Finkelstein, UNLV 68-72-70--210 (-9)2. Suc Tangkamolprasert, Northwestern 70-69-74--213 (-6)T3. Sirene Blair, SDSU 72-72-70--214 (-5)T3. Hannah Kim, Northwestern 74-69-71--214 (-5)T3. Julie Yang, Oklahoma State 74-69-71--214 (-5)-----T25. Emma Henrikson, SDSU 77-74-72--223 (+4)T27. Paige Spiranac, SDSU 76-75-73--224 (+5)T34. Mila Chaves, SDSU 79-75-71--225 (+6)T60. Haleigh Krause, SDSU* 79-78-76--233 (+14)87. Georgia Lacey, SDSU 83-86-75--244 (+25)
* - competed as an individual