Battling windy conditions that caused the average score for the entire field to be 11 strokes over par, the Seattle University women’s golf team finished the first round of the Cowgirl Classic in a tie for 12th place Monday at the Ocotillo Golf Resort.
Nicole Gaddie (Salt Lake City, Utah) led Seattle U with a seven-over-par 79, good enough to finish the day in a tie for 16th place. She was one of only six players to birdie the 13th hole, and she kept her mistakes to a minimum, not posting anything over a bogey throughout the entire round.
Clare Sorensen (Roseville, Calif.) is in a tie for 41st place after shooting 82 (+10) in the first round, with her highlight being a par on the eighth hole, the second hardest hole on the golf course during Monday’s round. Monica Keo (Kaneohe, Hawaii) shot 84 (+12), including one of only three birdies on the 14th hole, to go into the clubhouse in a tie for 59th place.
Lori Pearson (Seattle, Wash.) posted a first-round score of 86 (+14) to put her in a tie for 72nd place after the opening round. Shannon Quinn (Shoreline, Wash.) is in a tie for 90th place after shooting 89 (+17) during the first 18 holes.
As a team, Seattle University is tied with Wyoming for 12th place at 331 (+43), only six strokes behind a group of schools currently tied for seventh place. Boise State is in the lead after the first round with a team score of 307 (+19), seven shots ahead of Northern Arizona. The Broncos are paced by individual leader Hayley Young, the only player to post a round under par with 71 (-1), four strokes ahead of two golfers tied for second place.
Seattle University will tee off from the first hole in Tuesday’s second round, beginning with Quinn at 6:39 a.m. local time and continuing based on first round scores in nine-minute intervals until Gaddie tees off at 7:15 a.m.