Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Pac-12 Championships
Keating Propels Buffs To Fifth Place Finish At Pac-12s
April 22, 2015 | Women's Golf
BOULDER – Junior Alexis Keating shot a program record 66 in the final round of the 2015 Pac-12 Championships here Wednesday at the Boulder Country Club and led the University of Colorado women's golf team to a school best fifth place finish.
As a team, the Buffs shot 1-under par (283) on the last day en route to an 868 (296-289-283) or 16-over par final score. CU was paired with top-ranked USC and defeated the Trojans by eight strokes. CU's 1-under par 283 was one of only three subpar team rounds posted throughout the entire tournament. It's the best round recorded at a conference tournament in school history and the fifth lowest round ever on record. Additionally, CU's 54-hole total of 868 is the school's best postseason performance and fifth best overall.
“Our team played solid,” said Colorado head coach Anne Kelly. “Today I think was one of our best days ever. Everybody played solid and it was a real team effort. I just couldn't be prouder of them.”
Arizona captured the title by shooting 5-under as a team in the final round and finished at 1-over par (853) in the championship. Oregon took second, five strokes back at 6-over par and Washington finished three behind the Ducks posting a 9-over par team performance. UCLA claimed fourth, six strokes ahead of CU who rounded out the top five. In addition to defeating USC, Colorado also beat No. 16 Stanford and 18th-ranked Arizona State, The Buffs now have four wins against top 25 opponents this season.
Keating's blistering final round 5-under par 66 matches a school record and is the lowest score recorded on a par 71 in program history. She tallied seven birdies on the day, which tied the school record for third most all-time in a single round. The Elma, Wash. native finished the meet with a 3-under par 210 and tied for fifth place overall, which is the fourth best individual finish in school history at a conference tournament.
“I had a great day,” said Keating. “I was feeling really good on these greens today and every putt I was confident it was going in.”
“She was on fire,” Kelly said of Keating's last round. “She's been hitting the ball all semester like a tour pro and just not getting those birdie chances to fall, but she did today and she was due. I am extremely happy for her.”
Sophomore Esther Lee secured her ninth top 15 finish this season in only 10 tournaments, tying for 12th place overall while posting a 2-over par 215, which is the school's third best 54-hole score on a par 71. Lee, who became the first Buff named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, which the conference announced following the conclusion of the championship, shot an even-round 71 on Wednesday, which included four birdies and 10 pars.
Freshman Brittany Fan had her best round of the tournament on the final day, also recording an even-par 71 to finish at 6-over par 219. She went 2-over through the first nine holes, recording three bogeys and one birdie, but settled down nicely on the back side, going 2-under with two birdies and seven pars. Fan finished tied for 21st in the field as she earned her eighth top 25 finish in only the first year of her collegiate career.
Sophomore Natalie Vivaldi finished tied for 38th overall carding a 13-over par (75-76-75—226) for the meet. She recorded two birdies and 12 pars on Wednesday on her way to posting a 75 in the final round. Vivaldi shot plus-1 on the front side and 3-over on the back. She was 5-over through 17 holes, but finished strong with a birdie on No. 18 to close at 4-over par.
Junior Jamie Oleksiew completed the conference event at 22-over par 235. She finished the final round shooting 82 or 11 over par. After the first nine holes, Olesksiew was 4-over par and then struggled some on the back, carding a 7-over par. Despite a difficult round, she had a solid finish, paring each of the final four holes to take 51st place.
Oregon's Caroline Inglis won the Pac-12 Conference individual title with a 7-under par 206 (67-72-67), two strokes ahead of Arizona's Lindsey Weaver and Bronte Law from UCLA, who tied for second at 5-over par. Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State finished in third, one behind second as she posted a 209 or 4-under par. Tying for fifth place with Keating was UCLA's Erynne Lee, also finishing 3-under (210).
The Buffs look to be in good position to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for May 7-9. The postseason field will be announced on the NCAA Selection Show at 5 p.m. MT on the Golf Channel on Monday, April 27. This year's regional sites include Raleigh, N.C., South Bend, Ind., San Antonio, Texas and St. George, Utah.
Notes:
- Keating's 210 is the second lowest score on a 54-hole, par 71, just four strokes behind the record 206, which was set earlier this season by Lee at the Bay Area Intercollegiate and her 210 sets the record for best 54-hole score in a conference tournament, breaking the previous record, 213 set by Jenny Coleman in 2013.
- Keating shot 32 on the back nine, which ties the school record for second-lowest nine-hole score
- Keating's fifth place finish is just the sixth top five finish recorded by a Buff in a conference tournament in school history
- CU's final round 283 is second best in school history, just four strokes shy of the record 279 set at the 2012 NCAA Regionals, which the Buffs hosted at Colorado National
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BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
||
|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
|
T5. |
72-72-66—210 |
|
|
12. |
76-68-71—215 |
|
|
T21. |
73-75-71—219 |
|
|
T38. |
75-76-75—226 |
|
|
51. |
79-74-82—235 |
|
|
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS |
||
|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
Caroline Inglis, Oregon |
67-72-67—206 |
|
T2. |
Bronte Law, UCLA |
70-67-71—208 |
|
T2. |
Lindsey Weaver, Arizona |
72-67-69—208 |
|
4. |
Noemi Jimenez, Arizona State |
69-70-70—209 |
|
T5. |
Alexis Keating, Colorado |
72-72-66—210 |
|
T5. |
Erynne Lee, UCLA |
70-68-72—210 |
|
TEAM SCORES |
||
|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
Arizona |
292-282-279—853 |
|
2. |
Oregon |
284-289-285—858 |
|
3. |
Washington |
289-287-285—861 |
|
4. |
UCLA |
287-286-289—862 |
|
5. |
COLORADO |
296-289-283—868 |
|
6. |
Southern California |
293-292-291—876 |
|
7. |
Stanford |
286-303-289—878 |
|
8. |
Oregon State |
294-295-292—881 |
|
9. |
Arizona State |
304-290-288—882 |
|
10. |
California |
297-299-292—888 |
|
11. |
Washington State |
299-305-297—901 |
Players Mentioned
