Colorado
Silverado Showdown
Lee With Individual Lead, Buffs In Second At Silverado
April 13, 2015 | Women's Golf
NAPA, Calif. – Sophomore Esther Lee of the University of Colorado women's golf team holds the top spot on the individual leaderboard after two rounds here Monday in the second annual Silverado Showdown. As a team, the Buffaloes shot 592 to put them in second place and are in good position to earn their first win of the season.
CU, a tournament co-host with 32nd-ranked Oregon, entered Monday ranked No. 39 in the latest GolfStat poll and are three strokes behind the Ducks, who are in first with a 13-over par, 589. No. 12 Northwestern (307-288—595) is on CU's heels, three strokes back in third. Fellow Pac-12 foe, Oregon State is in fourth place after shooting a 601 and just one stroke behind is No. 47 San Jose State who rounds out the top five at 26-over par.
The Buffs tallied rounds of 294 and 298 for 16-over par at the par-72, 6,253 Silverado Resort and Spa. CU led after the first round, but Oregon used a 2-over par second round to jump ahead of the Buffs. Colorado led the field with in par-5 scoring, shooting even-par and had 23 birdies, the most among the 15-team field.
“The first round was really solid and that was spearheaded by Esther” said Colorado head coach Anne Kelly. “It's a tough golf course and she played really well in the morning. The wind was stronger in the afternoon and she struggled a bit, but overall a pretty good day for us. Unfortunately, we didn't finish the second round very strong. We let a few shots slip away, but we're still in good position.”
Lee came out with a flurry of birdies to open the tournament, sinking six, which led to a first round 67, the only sub-par performance in the field through the first 18 holes. Her 67 marked the fourth time she has shot a round in the 60s this spring, which sets a new single-season record, surpassing the previous mark of three, last set in 2014 by Jenny Coleman. The Los Alamitos, Calif. native's 32 on the back-nine tied a school record for second best. She carded a 2-over par, 74 in the second round as the winds picked up, drying out the greens, which led to more difficult putting surfaces. With a 141 after 36 holes, Lee leads by two strokes heading into Tuesday.
“No matter when you shoot a 67 that's a great round, but on this course especially, that's very impressive,” Kelly said of Lee's performance. “She played extremely well.”
Freshman Brittany Fan is tied for 13th place with a 74-75—149 or 5-over par. She was 2-over in the first round and went on to shoot 3-over the next time through. Fan opened the second round at 2-under with birdies on Nos. 2 and 4, but then bogeyed four of her next five to move to 2-over. She brought it back down to even-par with two consecutive birdies on the back nine, but had a little trouble finishing the day as carded a 3-over through the final seven holes. If Fan is able to remain in 13th, it would be a career-best finish.
One stroke behind Fan is junior Alexis Keating. She posted a 76-74—150 or 6-over par through 36 holes. She used a 1-under par performance on the back-nine of the second round to help her finish two strokes better than the opening round and move up five spots. Keating, looking for her first top 20 performance of the spring is tied for 17th overall.
Sophomore Natalie Vivaldi is in a tie for 28th place at 9-over par after rounds of 78 and 75. After a birdie, five bogeys and one double-bogey in the first round, Vivaldi found a better groove her second time out, recording another birdie to go along with 13 pars and only four bogeys.
Junior Jamie Oleksiew finished the day with a 158 or 14-over par performance. She shot a 77 or 5-over par in the first round and then followed with a 9-over, 81 in the afternoon. A pair of triple-bogeys and a double in the second round proved to be the main difference from the morning. She is tied for 57th place.
Junior Allie Zech is playing as an individual and her score is not factored into the team total. She is tied for 71st, shooting 21-over par, 165. Zech carded an 81 in the first round and then also had a more challenging second round, posting an 84.
Lee holds a two-stroke advantage over Suchaya Tangkamolprasert of Northwestern, who is in with a 143. California's Lucia Gutierrez is at even-par and only one stroke behind in third place. Krissy Peterson from Oregon State is in fourth place, one stroke back of Gutierrez. Megan Osland from San Jose State and Kacie Komoto from Northwestern are tied for first, each posting a 146s.
The final round gets underway on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. MT. The Buffs will then return home and prepare to host the Pac-12 Championships, April 20-22 at the Boulder Country Club.
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BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
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|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
67-74—141 |
|
|
T13. |
74-75—149 |
|
|
T17. |
76-74—150 |
|
|
T28. |
78-75—153 |
|
|
T57. |
77-81—158 |
|
|
T71. |
81-84—165 |
|
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TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS |
||
|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
Esther Lee, Colorado |
67-74—141 |
|
2. |
Suchaya Tangkamolprasert, Northwestern |
74-69—143 |
|
3. |
Lucia Gutierrez, California |
73-71—144 |
|
4. |
Krissy Peterson, Oregon State |
74-71—145 |
|
T5. |
Megan Osland, San Jose State |
72-74—146 |
|
T5. |
Kacie Komoto, Northwestern |
75-71—146 |
|
TEAM SCORES |
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|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
Oregon |
299-290—589 |
|
2. |
COLORADO |
294-298—592 |
|
3. |
Northwestern |
307-288—595 |
|
4. |
Oregon State |
308-293—601 |
|
5. |
San Jose State |
299-303—602 |
|
6. |
Harvard |
309-294—603 |
|
7. |
California |
300-309—609 |
|
8. |
GRU Augusta |
299-311—610 |
|
T9. |
Washington State |
310-305—615 |
|
T9. |
Wisconsin |
313-302—615 |
|
11. |
Long Beach State |
309-309—618 |
|
12. |
Minnesota |
310-312—622 |
|
13. |
New Mexico |
315-308—623 |
|
14. |
Hawaii |
317-311—628 |
|
15. |
Colorado State |
311-319—630 |
Players Mentioned
