Buffs In Fourth At Big 12 Championships

Friday, April 23

Norman, Okla.

All Day

Colorado

Round One

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

April 23, 2010 | Women's Golf

By: CUBuffs.com

NORMAN, Okla.-With two players shooting in the top seven, the University of Colorado women's golf team sits tied for fourth place after 18 holes Friday at the 2010 Big 12 Championships here at the Jimmy Austin OU Golf Course.

Oklahoma State leads the way on the par-72, 6,327-yard setup and holds a six-stroke advantage over the rest of the field after shooting a 5-over par 293. Teams in second through 10th are within eight strokes with Texas Tech sitting in second with an 11-over par 299. Iowa State sits one stroke behind the Red Raiders at 300 while the Buffs and Texas are tied for fourth with 14-over par 302's.

Youth was served for the Buffaloes in the first round, as sophomore Emily Talley shot an even-par 72 and is tied for fourth while freshman Taylor Doyle shot a 2-over par 74 and is tied for seventh place. Talley had 16 pars with one birdie and one bogey while Doyle had 16 pars with two bogeys. Both players are tied for the most pars of anybody in the field in the first round.

"We played pretty consistent golf," CU coach Anne Kelly said. "Everybody is hitting the ball well and we had a lot of opportunities for birdies that didn't fall. We're driving well and chipping better - we've been working on that - and if we can shore up the putting, we should be in good shape moving forward."

Talley's par round is just the fourth round at or under par in CU history at the Big 12 Championships and the first since Maria Persson-Gulda shot 1-under par in the second round of the 2006 Big 12 Championships.

"Honestly, I felt my round was as consistent as it looked with 16 pars," Talley said. "I was hitting the ball fantastic, hitting the fairways and greens; I just had the one birdie putt. I was hitting the three-foot and over par putts, but missing them when they were for birdie, so I need to get over that - it's just a putt, it's not a birdie putt."

Talley is tied with Oklahoma State's Courtney McKim for fourth place individually at even par and the two are just two shots off the lead, shared by Cowgirls Victoria Park and Caroline Hedwall, who both shot 2-under par 70s in the first round. Texas Tech's Rosalyn Kim is third place with a 1-under par 71. For Talley, it's her eighth round of the season at or below par.

"I felt more comfortable after the first few holes," Talley said. "My bogey was one of the better bogey's I've had in a while. I'm in the mix and that's where I want to be. I'd actually rather be a few shots behind rather than trying to maintain a lead."

Doyle's 74 is tied for the 11th best round in CU history at the Big 12 Championships, is the second-best round by a freshman at Big 12's and is the best first round at the championships by a freshman in CU history.

"I was hitting the ball really well today," Doyle said. "I had 16 pars and hit a lot of greens in regulation - that was helpful. I had two bogeys, I missed an up and down and three-putted so I don't think they were related. I didn't make a lot of birdies, but I saved par a lot, so all in all it was a good day."

Senior Christine Kim also had a solid day for the Buffaloes and is tied for 21st place after shooting a 4-over par 76. She led the Buffs with two birdies in the first round. Junior Stephanie Simich and senior Dominique Pytlewski are both tied for 46th place at 8-over par after shooting 80s in the first round.

"We were all hitting well today," Doyle said. "It was mostly putting. We'll be working on that a lot the rest of today and get it straightened out, and that'll get us confident for tomorrow."

The Big 12 Championships continue Saturday as the Buffs will tee off first beginning at 8 a.m., paired with Texas and Kansas State. Simich will tee off at 8 a.m., followed by Pytlewski at 8:10 a.m., Kim at 8:20 a.m., Doyle at 8:30 a.m. and Talley will tee off about 8:40 a.m.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T4.	Emily Talley	72
T7.	Taylor Doyle	73
T21.	Christine Kim	76
T46.	Dominique Pytlewski	80
T46.	Stephanie Simich	80

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS

T1.	Caroline Hedwall, Oklahoma State	70
T1.	Victoria Park, Oklahoma State	70
3.	Rosalyn Kim, Texas Tech	71
T4.	Courtney McKim, Oklahoma State	72
T4.	Emily Talley, Colorado	72

TEAM STANDINGS

1.	Oklahoma State	293
2.	Texas Tech	299
3.	Iowa State	300
T4.	Colorado	302
T4.	Texas	302
6.	Kansas State	303
T7.	Nebraska	305
T7.	Texas A&M	305
9.	Oklahoma	306
10.	Missouri	307
11.	Baylor	312
12.	Kansas	314