Buffs In 10th After First Day At The Betsy Rawls Invitational

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Colorado women's golf team is currently 10^th in the Betsy Rawls Invitational.

CU played the first round on Friday at the UT Golf Course, finishing up with a 22-over 311. The Buffs are playing without teammate Robyn Choi who just qualified for the final round of the LPGA Q-Series.

Texas is in the lead of the invitational as the Longhorns shot a 3-over 291 and have a three-stroke lead over second-place Kent State, which recorded a 6-over 294. Florida is sitting third (7-over 295).

"It was a very tough day for our team today," head coach Anne Kelly said. "It rained most of our front nine and our team just didn't handle the conditions well. We also need to adjust to playing without Robyn Choi. Robyn will be in qualifying the rest of our fall season, so we will have to get used to not having her.

"Everyone will need to step up to make up for her loss. The good news is several younger players are getting lots of experience and making progress. We have some work to do, but our team members are dedicated and working hard. We will get back on track soon."

Junior Kirsty Hodgkins led the team on Friday and is currently tied for 20^th after recording a 3-over 75. She recorded a pair of birdies in addition to five bogeys through the first 18 holes. In the front nine, she tallied four bogeys and one birdie, which put her at a 3-over 39. The back nine was more consistent for her. She started with two pars before scoring her second birdie of the day. Then she made five straight pars before finishing with a bogey for an even 36 to add to her 39 from the front nine.

Senior Gillian Vance is currently tied for 35^th with a 5-over 77. She was 3-over on the front nine. She started with three pars, but then recorded her first bogey of the day on the fourth hole. Through the next five holes, she had one birdie, one bogey, one double bogey and two pars for a 3-over 39. She played a fairly even back nine with a pair of bogeys and seven pars for another 2-over 38 to total her 5-over 77.

Freshman Malak Bouraeda finished the day third for CU with a 6-over 78. She recorded a trio of birdies in the first nine, along with five bogeys for a 2-over 38. In the back nine, she had one birdie, three bogeys and ended her day with a double to score a 4-over 40.

Sophomore Elle Otten earned a 9-over 81 in the first day of action. She had a pair of birdies, six bogeys, one double and one triple in addition to her eight pars. Senior Haley Nist finished her day with a 13-over 85. She had nine bogeys, two doubles and seven pars.

Texas' Agathe Laisne leads the field after the first round of action, shooting a 4-under 68. Kenzie Wright (Alabama) and Kaitlyn Papp (Texas) are tied for second with 1-under 71 scores.

The second round of the Betsy Rawls Invitational is set for Saturday, Oct. 20. The third and final round will take place on Sunday, Oct. 21.

NOTES: Junior Robyn Choi tied for 21^st in the LPGA Q-school stage 2 tournament on Thursday. She will now play in the Q-Series, which will take place Oct. 24-Nov. 3 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. With that schedule, she will not be able to compete the rest of the fall schedule with CU, which has two more tournaments.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
Rank	Name	Score
T20.	Kirsty Hodgkins	75
T35.	Gillian Vance	77
T41. T60.	Malak Bouraeda Elle Otten	78 81
T71.	Haley Nist	85

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
Rank	Name	Score
1.	Agathe Laisne, Texas	68
T2.	Kaitlyn Papp, Texas	71
T2.	Kenzie Wright, Alabama	71
T4.	Lauren Chappell, SMU	72
T4. T4. T4.	Hailee Cooper, Texas Jenny Kim, Florida Pimnipa Panthong, Kent State	72 72 72

TEAM SCORES
Rank	Team	Score
1.	Texas	291
2.	Kent State	294
3.	Florida	295
4.	SMU	300
5.	Alabama	302
6.	Baylor	303
7.	Texas Tech	306
8.	Texas A&M	308
9.	Tulane	310
10.	Colorado	311
T11. T11. 13.	Texas State New Mexico North Texas	317 317 318

Buffs In 10th After First Day At The Betsy Rawls Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Malak Bouraeda

Kirsty Hodgkins

Haley Nist

Elle Otten

Gillian Vance