Buffs in Striking Distance After Two Rounds at Pac-12 Championships

Tuesday, April 25

Tucson, Ariz.

All Day

Colorado

Pac-12 Championships

Buffs in Striking Distance After Two Rounds at Pac-12 Championships

April 25, 2017 | Women's Golf

Results

By: Maggie Still, Assistant SID

TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 21 University of Colorado women's golf team shot its best round of the spring here Tuesday at the Pac-12 Championships at the Sewailo Golf Club. The Buffs hold steady in second place, only seven strokes behind the leader UCLA.

"The team played extremely well once again in very windy, tough conditions," head coach Anne Kelly said. "I was quite proud of how the team handled the challenges, kept their composure and made very good decisions today. It was a long tough day, but they really hung in there very well."

After improving 10 strokes from their first round and shooting a second round 2-under par 286, the Buffs hold steady in second place at 6-over par 582. The Bruins were the only team who bettered the Buffs in the second round and it was just by one stroke as they shot a 3-under 285 for a second round total of 1-under par 575. UCLA and CU were the only two teams to finish the day under par. Stanford comes in third after posting a second round of 10-over 298 to give them a two day total of 594. Arizona currently sits in fourth place with 22-over 598, while Arizona State rounds out the top five teams as they are at 23-over 599.

Individually, the Buffs have four golfers in the top-10 after two rounds with Kirsty Hodgkins, Robyn Choi, Brittany Fan and Esther Lee.

Freshman Kirsty Hodgkins continued her strong tournament, shooting 2-under par 70 to move up two spots and is currently tied for fourth overall. Her 70, ties for fifth in CU history in the postseason. Hodgkins kicked off her day in stellar fashion with back to back birdies as she coasted through her front nine finishing at 3-under. She improved her scorecard from the first round by collecting four birdies and 12 pars on the day.

Robyn Choi shot a strong 1-over par 73 in the second round with one birdie and 15 pars. Choi is currently tied for fifth overall at 1-over par 145. Choi's lone birdie came on the par 4 No. 17. Choi's consistency is holding strong as she has the third most pars in the field with 24 through two days.

"Our two freshman, Robin and Kirsty played very strong," Kelly said. "And for two freshman to be leading the way for team in the Pac 12 championship really speaks a lot to their talent and level of commitment to this program."

Esther Lee bounced back after a rough first day as she closed out the second round at 1-under par 71. Rebounding from a wrist injury, Lee moved up 12 spots and is now tied for ninth at 3-over par 147. Lee began her day on a steady note as she sailed through the front nine at even par with two birdies and two bogeys. Lee struggled at hole No. 12 yet again today recording a bogey on the hole. But that didn't slow her down as she fired out two birdies on hole No. 14 and 16 to finish at 1-under par 71.

"Once again Esther Lee showed how much heart she has by playing through her wrist injury," said Kelly.

Brittany Fan improved her scorecard in the second round as she posted an even par 72 on the day and tied for seventh place overall. Fan was 2-under on the front nine with birdies on holes No. 4 and 8. She opened her back nine with seven straight pars before closing out her day with back to back bogeys to finish at even par. Fan leads the entire tournament field with 28 pars.

"Brittany Fan also played a very solid round of golf today," Kelly said. "She was disappointed with her to bogeys to finish the round, but those two holes we are playing are extremely hard."

Lauryn Keating is in 54^th place sitting at 26-over par 170 for the tournament after shooting a 8-over 86 in round two. Her second round, two strokes more from Monday consisted of six pars, one birdie, seven bogeys and four double. Keating struggled through the front nine carding a 6-over but hung tough to finish through her round.

"Lauryn struggled a little bit again today but she's getting the experience she needs to play college golf at this top level," said Kelly.

UCLA's Lilia Vu holds steady in the No. 1 spot after carding a 6-under 66 in the second round. Her teammate Bethany Wu sits in second with a two day total of 141 while Andrea Lee of Stanford is one stroke behind in third at 142. Kirsty Hodgkins claims the fourth spot at 144 while Robyn Choi and Tiffany Chan of USC are tied for fifth at 145 two day total.

"We are looking forward to tomorrow and taking on the challenge of trying to catch UCLA," Kelly said. "They are a very good team but I think our team is very capable of giving them a good run for the title. Our team has worked very hard this year and I'm just so happy for them that they have the opportunity to compete for a Pac 12 championship."

The Pac-12 Championships conclude on Wednesday with the final found set to start at 9:30 a.m. MT.

BUFF INDIVIDUALS
4.              Kirsty Hodgkins                74-70-144
T5.           Robyn Choi                           72-73-145
T7.           Brittany Fan                         74-72-146
T9.           Esther Lee                              76-71-147
54.           Lauryn Keating 84-86-170

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Lilia Vu, UCLA                                   71-66-137
2. Bethany Wu, UCLA     71-70-141
3. Andrea Lee, Stanford 72-70-142
4. Kirsty Hodgkins                             74-70-144
T5. Robyn Choi                   72-73-145
T5. Tiffany Chan                                   75-70-145

TEAM STANDINGS
1. UCLA                                    290-285-575
2. Colorado                           296-286-582
3. Stanford                              296-298-594
4. Arizona                               305-293-598
5. Arizona State 307-292-599
6. Washington   308-292-600
7. USC                                        304-303-607
8. Oregon State 317-299-626
9. California                           316-309-625
10. Oregon                              318-308-626
11. Washington State 316-314-630

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