Colorado University Athletics
Monday, September 18
Tacoma, Wash.
All Day
Colorado
vs
First Two Rounds
Morgan Miller
Photo by: Zac BonDurant
Buffs Open Season With Long, But Great Day
September 18, 2023 | Women's Golf
UNIVERSITY PARK, Wash. — It was a long day for the University of Colorado women's golf team, but it turned out to be a great one as well.
Colorado slogged through 36-holes, miles-and-miles of steps and nearly a half-day on the Chambers Bay Golf Course, but in the end the Buffaloes played a lot of solid golf to find themselves in third place, at 4-over-par, 580, after two rounds of the season-opening Leadership and Golf Invitational.
USC is the tournament leader after two rounds shooting 15-under, 561. Minnesota was the only other team to shoot in the red through two rounds. The Golden Gophers are in second at 8-under, 568.
The Buffaloes were consistent all day and kept mistakes to a minimum. Colorado was tied for third after the first 18-holes at 1-over, 289, and kept sole possession of third by dropping just three strokes in the second round.
"I'm so proud of them," Colorado head coach Anne Kelly said. "We have a couple (Buffs) under the weather and they really hung tough. It's a hike. It's like 13 miles around (the course) for 36 holes with a lot of elevation ups and downs. It's a tough walk.
"We got (to the course) a little after 6 a.m. (Pacific) and we left at 8 p.m., so between breakfast, golf and dinner, that's a long day," Kelly said.
Sophomore Morgan Miller set the tone early for the Buffaloes - as in the first swing of the season. Miller drove the green on the short-par 4, 246-yard No. 12, to within eight feet. She sank the putt for eagle to start off her career-best round of 68 which featured three birdies and just one bogey.
Miller shot even (72) in the second round to stay at 4-under on the day and is tied with three others for second place, three strokes behind overall leader Hailey Loh of Minnesota who shot 7-under, 137.
"(Morgan) played such solid golf," Kelly said. "She was really hitting and putting the ball well, and when she missed a green, she got it up and down. She looked good today."
All four of Colorado's scoring golfers reside within the top 35 of the field. Senior Hailey Schalk is tied for 19th at 1-over, while redshirt junior Lauren Waxer-Gooding is one stroke behind, tied for 22nd at 2-over. Sabrina Iqbal, a graduate transfer from TCU, made her Colorado debut at 5-over, tied for 35th. Carolyn Fuller made her collegiate debut for the Buffaloes at 15-over and is tied for 90th overall.
"(We) played very smart golf," Kelly said. "The thing that I noticed; these are big undulating greens out here, but we putted well. The lag putting is just much better than it was last year. The short game is what I noticed a big improvement in."
Colorado will be in the leaders grouping in Tuesday's third and final round, teeing off between holes No. 1 and No. 3 along with USC, Minnesota and Georgia Southern with a 9 a.m. MT shotgun start.
NOTES: Schalk's first round 71 was her best since shooting back-to-back 71s in the final two rounds of the 2022 Silverado Showdown … Schalk played the four par-3s at 2-under, tying for fourth in the field … Miller tied for the second-best performance on the course's 10 par-4s at 3-under … With two eagles in the first round, the Buffaloes are already one-third of the way to their 2022-23 season total of six … Waxer-Gooding closed out her first round with an eagle on the short par-4 No. 12 … Miller and Waxer-Gooding accounted for two of the field's six eagles on No. 12 … Miller recorded her second career sub-70 score, her previous career-low was a 69 in the third round of last fall's Golfweek Red Sky Classic.
Colorado slogged through 36-holes, miles-and-miles of steps and nearly a half-day on the Chambers Bay Golf Course, but in the end the Buffaloes played a lot of solid golf to find themselves in third place, at 4-over-par, 580, after two rounds of the season-opening Leadership and Golf Invitational.
USC is the tournament leader after two rounds shooting 15-under, 561. Minnesota was the only other team to shoot in the red through two rounds. The Golden Gophers are in second at 8-under, 568.
The Buffaloes were consistent all day and kept mistakes to a minimum. Colorado was tied for third after the first 18-holes at 1-over, 289, and kept sole possession of third by dropping just three strokes in the second round.
"I'm so proud of them," Colorado head coach Anne Kelly said. "We have a couple (Buffs) under the weather and they really hung tough. It's a hike. It's like 13 miles around (the course) for 36 holes with a lot of elevation ups and downs. It's a tough walk.
"We got (to the course) a little after 6 a.m. (Pacific) and we left at 8 p.m., so between breakfast, golf and dinner, that's a long day," Kelly said.
Sophomore Morgan Miller set the tone early for the Buffaloes - as in the first swing of the season. Miller drove the green on the short-par 4, 246-yard No. 12, to within eight feet. She sank the putt for eagle to start off her career-best round of 68 which featured three birdies and just one bogey.
Miller shot even (72) in the second round to stay at 4-under on the day and is tied with three others for second place, three strokes behind overall leader Hailey Loh of Minnesota who shot 7-under, 137.
"(Morgan) played such solid golf," Kelly said. "She was really hitting and putting the ball well, and when she missed a green, she got it up and down. She looked good today."
All four of Colorado's scoring golfers reside within the top 35 of the field. Senior Hailey Schalk is tied for 19th at 1-over, while redshirt junior Lauren Waxer-Gooding is one stroke behind, tied for 22nd at 2-over. Sabrina Iqbal, a graduate transfer from TCU, made her Colorado debut at 5-over, tied for 35th. Carolyn Fuller made her collegiate debut for the Buffaloes at 15-over and is tied for 90th overall.
"(We) played very smart golf," Kelly said. "The thing that I noticed; these are big undulating greens out here, but we putted well. The lag putting is just much better than it was last year. The short game is what I noticed a big improvement in."
Colorado will be in the leaders grouping in Tuesday's third and final round, teeing off between holes No. 1 and No. 3 along with USC, Minnesota and Georgia Southern with a 9 a.m. MT shotgun start.
NOTES: Schalk's first round 71 was her best since shooting back-to-back 71s in the final two rounds of the 2022 Silverado Showdown … Schalk played the four par-3s at 2-under, tying for fourth in the field … Miller tied for the second-best performance on the course's 10 par-4s at 3-under … With two eagles in the first round, the Buffaloes are already one-third of the way to their 2022-23 season total of six … Waxer-Gooding closed out her first round with an eagle on the short par-4 No. 12 … Miller and Waxer-Gooding accounted for two of the field's six eagles on No. 12 … Miller recorded her second career sub-70 score, her previous career-low was a 69 in the third round of last fall's Golfweek Red Sky Classic.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | ||||
| Rank | Name | Score (To Par) | ||
| T2. | Morgan Miller | 68-72—140 (-4) | ||
| T19. | Hailey Schalk | 71-74—145 (+1) | ||
| T22. | Lauren Waxer-Gooding | 74-72—146 (+2) | ||
| T35. | Sabrina Iqbal | 76-73—149 (+5) | ||
| T90. | Carolyn Fuller | 77-82—159 (+15) | ||
| TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS | ||||
| Rank | Name | Score (To Par) | ||
| 1. | Hailey Loh, Minnesota | 70-67—137 (-7) | ||
| T2. | Morgan Miller, Colorado | 68-72—140 (-4) | ||
| T2. | Amari Avery, USC | 68-72—140 (-4) | ||
| T2. | Catherine Park, USC | 70-70—140 (-4) | ||
| T2. | Riana Mission, San Francisco | 65-75—140 (-4) | ||
| TEAM SCORES | ||||
| Rank | Team | Score (To Par) | ||
| 1. | USC | 276-285—561 (-15) | ||
| 2. | Minnesota | 283-285—568 (-8) | ||
| 3. | Colorado | 289-291—580 (+4) | ||
| 4. | Georgia Southern | 294-287—581 (+5) | ||
| 5. | Oregon State | 290-295—585 (+9) | ||
| 6. | Sacramento State | 295-295—590 (+14) | ||
| 7. | San Francisco | 289-303—592 (+16) | ||
| 8. | Washington | 293-300—593 (+17) | ||
| 9. | Washington State | 294-301—595 (+19) | ||
| 10. | Fresno State | 293-303—596 (+20) | ||
| 11. | Cal Poly | 299-299—598 (+22) | ||
| 12. | BYU | 298-302—600 (+24) | ||
| 13. | San Diego State | 292-313—605 (+29) | ||
| T14. | Santa Clara | 301-306—607 (+31) | ||
| T14. | Seattle U. | 301-306—607 (+31) | ||
| 16. | Gonzaga | 300-308—608 (+32) | ||
| 17. | Northern Arizona | 302-308—610 (+34) | ||
| 18. | UC Riverside | 312-312—624 (+48) | ||
| 19. | South Alabama | 316-325—641 (+65) | ||
Players Mentioned
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