Lady Buffs and Pios Tee It Up in the Desert
CU women finish T7 and DU women finish 11th in Tempe
By Drew Kort
Eight of the top 50 ranked teams, per Golfstat, gathered to compete in the PING/ASU Invitational in Tempe, Arizona, last weekend. The event was held on the par-72, 6,337-yard Karsten Golf Course.
One of those teams was No. 18 University of Colorado Lady Buffs led by Australian sophomores Robyn Choi and Kirsty Hodgkins, and senior Brittany Fan (Pearl City, Hawaii).
Choi, Golfstat’s 28th ranked player in the nation, was the low Buff after she carded rounds of 72-69-75. With one loop remaining, Choi trailed the leader by only two shots, but was unable to capture her first collegiate victory. She finished T11 and even par for the tournament despite dealing with a sore back.
“Robyn struggled today,” said head coach Anne Kelly at the conclusion of the event. “She wasn’t striking the ball as well as the first couple of days. Unfortunately, she didn’t have her best today, but her ability to consistently be in contention is a really good sign.”
Choi has now finished inside the top 20 in every event this season except the Bruin Wave Invitational. She finished T21 in that event.
Fan, coming off her first collegiate win at the Meadow Club Women’s Collegiate, and Hodgkins played the 54 holes in 3 over par. They finished tied for 25th on the individual leaderboard.
The group finished in a tie for seventh place on the team leaderboard with a score of 17 over par.
No. 41 University of Denver Lady Pios did not fare quite as well as the Buffs but will have some positives to take from the competition.
Sophomore Mary Weinstein (Highlands Ranch) continued her solid play as of late with rounds of 72-75-72. She was the low Pio for the event with a T25 finish at 3 over par. It was her sixth top-25 finish this season. As a transfer recruit from Regis University, Weinstein proved, yet again, what a valuable asset she is to this squad.
Close behind her was Junior Sophie Newlove (Nottingham, England) at 6 over par. Newlove finished in a tie for 31st on the individual leaderboard. Playing in the number one slot for the Crimson and Gold was senior Lauren Whyte (St. Andrews, Scotland). Whyte posted 7 over par with rounds of 75-74-74 to land in a tie for 33rd. The team finished in solo 11th place at 29 over par.
“Really proud of this team today,” head coach Lindsay Kuhle said. “We had the seventh-lowest round of a highly-competitive field and really had it going on the course. It was fun to see the ladies play with so much confidence, attack pins and make birdies.”
Arizona won the team side of the event at 12 under par, and Georgia’s Jillian Hollis earned the individual honors at 9 under par.
Click here for tournament stats and scores.
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