Women’s golf tees off to record start at Vegas Showdown
The UCLA women’s golf team set a school team scoring record Monday, shooting 9-under par at the UNLV-sponsored Las Vegas Founders Collegiate Showdown. Led by freshman Jane Park, the Bruins sit in first place at the end of day one, six shots over second-place Arizona.
Park shot a round of 4-under, capping an excellent performance by the rest of the team. Fellow freshman Tiffany Joh shot 2-under, as did returning junior Hannah Jun. Senior Susie Mathews and sophomore Amie Cochran also performed solidly, each finishing one under to end the day.
Bruin coach Carrie Forsyth was encouraged by the day’s results.
“We played really well (today),” Forsyth said. “We’re progressing very well as a team.”
The growth seen by the Bruins on Monday indicated a change in play. The team performed relatively poorly at the beginning of the season, consistently shooting well over par. The turnaround, says Forsyth, came last week at Stanford, when the team shot under par for the first time this season.
“That tournament was really a big help for us,” Forsyth said. “Even though we were only 1-under par, it was a start.”
A large part of the team’s success at UNLV Saturday was its excellent start. At one point on the front nine, the Bruins were at an incredible 13-under. Their incredible performance leveled off on the back nine, with bogeys on several holes leading to the record-setting score of 9-under par.
The previous record was set in 2003, when the women’s team finished 7-under par (281) at the Mason Rudolph Championship. It also surpasses the tournament round record set by Washington in 2004 (280).
Park played for a personal best 4-under in the tournament’s first round. Her performance seemed to characterize that of the team. She played exceptionally on the front nine; at one point she made three birdies in a row, ending the first half of the round at 4-under. But she couldn’t improve on the score and finished at 4-under.
While the freshmen did lead the way with a combined score of 6-under, Forsyth was quick to point out that teamwork was what won the first round.
“We know we have a lot of depth on our team,” she said. “We got great leadership from the upperclassmen.”
Another notable achievement by the team on Monday was the fact that the entire team finished in the top 10 on the leaderboard. Parker is tied for second with Arizona’s Amanda Wilson. Joh and Jun are tied with three other players for fifth, and Matthews and Cochran are tied at tenth.
Host UNLV’s Da Sol Chung is currently in first place, scoring a 67 on the opening round to finish 5-under par.
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