Oct. 25, 2015
Round One PDF Results | Live Results
BOULDER CITY, Nev. -- San Diego State's Sirene Blair (South Jordan, Utah) shot a 5-under par 67 on Sunday to lead the 13th-ranked Aztec women's golf team during the opening round of the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown at Boulder Creek Golf Club. With her total, the SDSU junior matched her lowest 18-hole score in a Scarlet and Black uniform, landing in a five-way tie for third heading into Monday's second round.
Collectively, the Aztecs remain five strokes off the pace, occupying the fifth position with Vanderbilt after posting an 8-under 280 on the par-72, 6,277-yard track. Michigan and San José State each carded a 13-under 275 to grab a share of the lead, while Missouri (-11) sits in third, followed closely by Nebraska (-10).
SDSU sports two golfers among the individual top 20, highlighted by Blair, who was the lone Aztec to complete a bogey-free scorecard during the first round. The two-time all-Mountain West performer notched 13 pars and five birdies, including an impressive conversion on her starting green, the par-3, 169-yard No. 4, which ranked as the third-most difficult hole on Sunday. With her result, Blair finds herself tied for third on a congested leaderboard with Nebraska's Haley Thiele, Camille Chevalier of Indiana, and Vanderbilt's Cindy Ha and Celyn Khoo of Nevada, while San José State teammates My Leander (-7) and Elizabeth Schultz (-6) snared the top two spots.
In addition, SDSU received a tremendous boost from Haleigh Krause (Eugene, Ore.), who equaled her season-best with a 69 to finish the day in a logjam with six other players for 18th. The Aztec sophomore tied for the team lead with six birdies overall, including a successful make on the par-4, 358-yard 14th, which ranked as the toughest hole of the opening round, with just 13 of 105 golfers notching birdies on that green. However, Krause's round was tempered somewhat by a double-bogey on the par-3 8th and a bogey on another par-3 at No. 17. Despite the hiccups, the native Oregonian remains just four shots in back of the leader.
The rest of the SDSU delegation, Emma Henrikson (Malmö, Sweden), Georgia Lacey (Del Mar, Calif.) and Mila Chaves (Asuncion, Paraguay), find themselves in a tie for 50th after each fired a 72 on Sunday.
Despite collecting six birdies of her own, Henrikson, who entered the tournament at No. 5 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings was plagued by four bogeys, including three on a four-hole stretch on the front nine to go with a double-bogey-6 at No. 14. Still, the Aztec senior finished on a high note, carding a birdie on her final hole, the par-5, 508-yard No. 2, to get back to even for the day.
Likewise, Lacey experienced some early troubles, opening with a bogey on the No. 4 green and double-bogey at No. 6 before righting the ship with three consecutive pars and a birdie on the par-4 10th. A bogey soon followed at No. 11; however, the SDSU sophomore played spot-free golf the rest of the way, reeling off eight pars to go with back-to-back birdies on holes 14-15.
Meanwhile, fellow classmate Chaves managed to offset three bogeys with a trio of birdies, including two on her first three holes, the par-5 5th and the par-4 No. 7.
The Aztecs were also represented by freshman Kitty Tam (Hong Kong) an unattached golfer, who ended the day in a tie for 73rd after firing an opening-round 74. Tam got off to a wobbly start with four bogeys on her first six holes, but played at 2-under the rest of the way thanks to three birdies, including a pair of conversions at No. 4 and No. 6.
The second round of the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown gets underway on Monday when San Diego State tees off alongside Nebraska and Vanderbilt in a shotgun start, beginning at 8 a.m. PT.
Las Vegas Collegiate ShowdownRound One ResultsBoulder Creek G.C.Boulder City, Nev.Par 72, 6,277 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 19 schools)T1. Michigan...275 (-13)T1. San José State...275 (-13)3. Missouri...277 (-11)4. Nebraska...278 (-10)T5. San Diego State...280 (-8)T5. Vanderbilt...277 (-21)
Individual Leaders (Top 7 of 105 players + SDSU)1. My Leander, San José State...65 (-7)2. Elizabeth Schultz, San José State...66 (-6)T3. Sirene Blair, SDSU...67 (-5)T3. Haley Thiele, Nebraska...67 (-5)T3. Camille Chevalier, Indiana...67 (-5)T3. Cindy Ha, Vanderbilt...67 (-5)T3. Celyn Khoo, Nevada...67 (-5)---T18. Haleigh Krause, SDSU...69 (-3)T50. Mila Chaves, SDSU...72 (E)T50. Georgia Lacey, SDSU...72 (E)T50. Emma Henrikson, SDSU...72 (E)T73. Kitty Tam, SDSU*...74 (+2)
* - competing as an individual