
Issy Simpson
Photo by: Tony Harman
Buffs Drop To 13th At PING/ASU Invitational
March 25, 2023 | Women's Golf
PHOENIX — The University of Colorado women's golf team is in 13th place through two rounds of the PING/ASU Invitational.
The Buffaloes fell seven spots in the standings from their opening round performance, doubling their score in relation to par from the first round with a 14-over, 302, Saturday at the Papago Golf Course.
No. 23 Northwestern held firmly onto its lead with its second-straight round of 6-under, to take an eight-stroke lead in to Sunday's final 18 holes at 12-under. Host and No. 11 ranked Arizona State had the day's best round at 11-under, 277, vaulting into second place behind the Wildcats at 4-under overall. No. 14 Baylor is third at 1-over with No. 6 Mississippi State one stroke behind at 2-over.
Colorado's 14-over was the third highest team score of the round, but the Buffaloes remain just five strokes out of the top 10 and seven strokes out of eighth, or the top half of the field, at 21-over, 597.
Buffaloes sophomore Natalie Vo remains in the hunt for a Top 5 finish. Vo is tied with six others for 10th place at even-par, 144, through two rounds, one stroke out of sixth and three strokes out of fifth. Mississippi State's Julia Lopez Ramirez and Northwestern's Kelly Sim are tied for the lead at 7-under, 137, with Baylor's Sera Hasegawa one stroke off the pace.
Vo had Colorado's best round for the second-straight day, shooting 1-over, 73. She was even through five holes, but had a hiccup with back-to-back bogeys on a pair of par-4s at No. 6 and No. 7. Vo played mistake-free the rest of the way though. She parred 10 of her final 11 holes and got back to 1-over with a birdie at the 512-yard, par 5, No. 15.
"Really proud of Natalie, she continues to play well and really had to fight for her round today," Colorado head coach Anne Kelly said. "Early on she couldn't get the putts to drop and that can wear you down, but she hung in there. She made a great par save on 17 and made really good pars on 16 and 18."
Senior Issy Simpson and sophomore Lauren Gooding both shot 4-over, 76, in the second round. Gooding had a strong start but struggled down the stretch, while Simpson did the opposite; struggling early with a solid finish.
Gooding played the front nine even and jumped to 2-under after the turn with birdies at the 525-yard, par 5, No. 10 and the 322-yard, par 4, No. 12. She dropped six strokes over the next five holes before finishing with par on No. 18. Overall, Gooding is tied for 65th place, at 9-over, 153.
Simpson was 3-over through three holes and made par on four of the next six on the front to sit at 5-over at the turn. She rallied on the back, playing the final nine at 1-under. Simpson had birdies at No. 12 and the 360-yard, par 4, No. 14 and made par on three of her last four holes. She is tied for 76th at 11-over, 155.
Graduate senior Haylin Harris shot 5-over, 77, and is tied for 58th overall at 8-over, 152. Harris was 2-over right away, carding a double-bogey on the longest hole of the course, the 532-yard, par 5, No. 1. She stayed even for the rest of the front, logging six-straight pars and after a bogey at No. 8, she bounced back with a birdie on the 512-yard, par 5, No. 9. Harris dropped back to 5-over with three bogeys on the back nine.
Freshman Morgan Miller had Colorado's high-round of the day at 6-over, 78. She avoided big numbers, but wasn't able to grab a birdie in her second round. Despite not scoring for the Buffaloes in this round, Miller remains Colorado's second-best performer at the tournament, thanks to her even-par first round. Miller is tied for 47th overall at 6-over, 150.
"I'd like to see our team have a great day (tomorrow) and just move up," Kelly said. "I know this team can compete. I think we sort of scratched the surface (Friday), but I think there is more in there and I'd really love to see it come out tomorrow."
Colorado will pair with Washington State and a group of individuals in Sunday's third and final round, beginning from the No. 10 tee, at 9:15 a.m. MDT.
The Buffaloes fell seven spots in the standings from their opening round performance, doubling their score in relation to par from the first round with a 14-over, 302, Saturday at the Papago Golf Course.
No. 23 Northwestern held firmly onto its lead with its second-straight round of 6-under, to take an eight-stroke lead in to Sunday's final 18 holes at 12-under. Host and No. 11 ranked Arizona State had the day's best round at 11-under, 277, vaulting into second place behind the Wildcats at 4-under overall. No. 14 Baylor is third at 1-over with No. 6 Mississippi State one stroke behind at 2-over.
Colorado's 14-over was the third highest team score of the round, but the Buffaloes remain just five strokes out of the top 10 and seven strokes out of eighth, or the top half of the field, at 21-over, 597.
Buffaloes sophomore Natalie Vo remains in the hunt for a Top 5 finish. Vo is tied with six others for 10th place at even-par, 144, through two rounds, one stroke out of sixth and three strokes out of fifth. Mississippi State's Julia Lopez Ramirez and Northwestern's Kelly Sim are tied for the lead at 7-under, 137, with Baylor's Sera Hasegawa one stroke off the pace.
Vo had Colorado's best round for the second-straight day, shooting 1-over, 73. She was even through five holes, but had a hiccup with back-to-back bogeys on a pair of par-4s at No. 6 and No. 7. Vo played mistake-free the rest of the way though. She parred 10 of her final 11 holes and got back to 1-over with a birdie at the 512-yard, par 5, No. 15.
"Really proud of Natalie, she continues to play well and really had to fight for her round today," Colorado head coach Anne Kelly said. "Early on she couldn't get the putts to drop and that can wear you down, but she hung in there. She made a great par save on 17 and made really good pars on 16 and 18."
Senior Issy Simpson and sophomore Lauren Gooding both shot 4-over, 76, in the second round. Gooding had a strong start but struggled down the stretch, while Simpson did the opposite; struggling early with a solid finish.
Gooding played the front nine even and jumped to 2-under after the turn with birdies at the 525-yard, par 5, No. 10 and the 322-yard, par 4, No. 12. She dropped six strokes over the next five holes before finishing with par on No. 18. Overall, Gooding is tied for 65th place, at 9-over, 153.
Simpson was 3-over through three holes and made par on four of the next six on the front to sit at 5-over at the turn. She rallied on the back, playing the final nine at 1-under. Simpson had birdies at No. 12 and the 360-yard, par 4, No. 14 and made par on three of her last four holes. She is tied for 76th at 11-over, 155.
Graduate senior Haylin Harris shot 5-over, 77, and is tied for 58th overall at 8-over, 152. Harris was 2-over right away, carding a double-bogey on the longest hole of the course, the 532-yard, par 5, No. 1. She stayed even for the rest of the front, logging six-straight pars and after a bogey at No. 8, she bounced back with a birdie on the 512-yard, par 5, No. 9. Harris dropped back to 5-over with three bogeys on the back nine.
Freshman Morgan Miller had Colorado's high-round of the day at 6-over, 78. She avoided big numbers, but wasn't able to grab a birdie in her second round. Despite not scoring for the Buffaloes in this round, Miller remains Colorado's second-best performer at the tournament, thanks to her even-par first round. Miller is tied for 47th overall at 6-over, 150.
"I'd like to see our team have a great day (tomorrow) and just move up," Kelly said. "I know this team can compete. I think we sort of scratched the surface (Friday), but I think there is more in there and I'd really love to see it come out tomorrow."
Colorado will pair with Washington State and a group of individuals in Sunday's third and final round, beginning from the No. 10 tee, at 9:15 a.m. MDT.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | ||||
Rank | Name | Score (To Par) | ||
T10. | Natalie Vo | 71-73—144 (E) | ||
T47. | Morgan Miller | 72-78—150 (+6) | ||
T58. | Haylin Harris | 75-77—152 (+8) | ||
T65. | Lauren Gooding | 77-76—153 (+9) | ||
T76. | Issy Simpson | 79-76—155 (+11) | ||
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS | ||||
Rank | Name | Score (To Par) | ||
T1. | Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State | 67-70—137 (-7) | ||
T1. | Kelly Sim, Northwestern | 68-69—137 (-7) | ||
3. | Sera Hasegawa, Baylor | 69-69—138 (-6) | ||
4. | Dianna Lee, Northwestern | 71-68—139 (-5) | ||
5. | Paula Schulz-Hannsen, Arizona State | 71-70—141 (-3) | ||
TEAM SCORES | ||||
Rank | Team | Score (To Par) | ||
1. | Northwestern | 282-282—564 (-12) | ||
2. | Arizona State | 295-277—572 (-4) | ||
3. | Baylor | 290-287—577 (+1) | ||
4. | Mississippi State | 290-288—578 (+2) | ||
5. | Oregon | 290-290—580 (+4) | ||
6. | Texas | 294-290—584 (+8) | ||
7. | Michigan State | 301-284—585 (+9) | ||
8. | Oregon State | 295-295—590 (+14) | ||
9. | Kansas | 302-289—591 (+15) | ||
10. | Washington | 302-290—592 (+16) | ||
T11. | California | 295-298—593 (+17) | ||
T11. | USC | 301-292—593 (+17) | ||
13. | Colorado | 295-302—597 (+21) | ||
14. | Washington State | 295-305—600 (+24) | ||
T15. | New Mexico | 309-296—605 (+29) | ||
T15. | Arizona | 308-297—605 (+29) | ||
17. | Michigan | 303-306—609 (+33) |
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