Tied for 1st

WORLEY, Idaho (September 14, 2010) – A first place tie and three top-20 individual finishes capped the final day of competition for the BYU women’s golf team Tuesday at the Circling Raven Collegiate Invitational in Worley, Idaho.

“We finished the tournament well today,” said BYU assistant coach Jake Ellison. “We were obviously disappointed about the end result because in my mind we tied for first. I am really proud of how we competed.”

Senior Jade Bollinger led the Cougars on day two, shooting an even-par 72 to capture fourth place overall, just two strokes behind individual champion Lauren Hernandez of Nevada.

“I felt really good today,” Bollinger said. “We played really well as a team and everyone contributed to make it a very successful first event.”

Going into the final round of play, the Cougars looked to hold on to a one-stroke lead over Northern Arizona for first place and after a close day of competition the two teams finished tied for the lead. However, Northern Arizona edged the Cougars based on the fifth golfer’s scores, or the “drop score." The Cougars finished five strokes ahead of future West Coast Conference opponent Gonzaga, which finished in third place.

Also finishing in the top 20 for the Cougars were sophomores Annika Afoa and Amanda Keith. Keith finished tied for 12th, shooting a final-round 78 with a three-round score of 226, 10-over-par. In her first collegiate event, Afoa shot rounds of 77, 75 and 76 to tie for 18th place.

Junior Maggie Yuan and sophomore Kelsey Vines both finished tied for 45th with final rounds of 83 and 79 respectively.

“We have a lot of potential and we are very excited for the season,” Bollinger said. “It is great to see younger players doing so well and everyone supporting each other.”

The Cougars return to action Friday in the Maguire Invitational held at the par-73 University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M. Shotgun starts at 8 a.m. are scheduled for both days, with 36 holes scheduled for Friday and finishing with 18 holes on Saturday. 

Jake is loving his new job.  He is having a blast with all the girls on the team and I am so proud of them for doing so well in this tournament.  Go Cougars!