University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Highlands Ranch Golf Course
Players Mentioned
Gophers Tied for Sixth After First Round in Colorado
10/5/2018 6:14:00 PM | Women's Golf
The Minnesota women's golf team had spent over two weeks away from competition leading up to the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, but any rust was quickly shaken off with an impressive opening round in both the team and player fields.
The Gophers posted their fourth-best round of the fall season Friday with a 299, 11-over par, to tie for sixth place of 16 teams. Freshman Karen Zhang and sophomore Grace Kellar currently lead the Gophers with top-20 finishes, and both carded a two-over par 74 through 18 to tie for 17th.
Rookie Zhang is making an early impact in her first team appearance of the season. She carded a bogey on her first hole, but tightened up from there and scored a stellar 33, three-under par on the front nine. She faltered a bit on Nos. 14-17 and added five strokes, but countered with a birdie on No. 18 to finish the day.
Zhang shares a piece of 17th place with Kellar. Kellar, who holds Minnesota's best average at 72.50, had a tough front nine that saw her three strokes ahead. She recovered on the back, though, with two birdies to one bogey and ended the day at two-over par with a 74.
Senior Muyu Wu finished just behind Zhang and Kellar with a three-over 75. She was two-over par on the front nine and cut back one stroke on No. 12. Bogeys on two of her next six holes put Wu at three-over on the day, to match her second-best round to par for the season. She currently sits in a tie for 27th place.
Sophomore Joanne Free finished out the front nine with a birdie to shave one stroke, and carded another on No. 14 to help bring her down to three-over on the day. She added that shot back on No. 17 to finish four-over on the day for a 76, and tied for 42nd place. Her 76 is her third-best 18-hole score and round to par of the season.
Sophomore Kate Lillie rounded out the field for the day. She began her day with a solid one-over front nine, but struggled on the back with bogeys on two holes and doubles on three. She shot even on the last two holes of the day to finish with a 44, nine-over par and tied for 83rd.
Colorado State holds a solid five-stroke lead in the team field with a 286, two-under par. Their own Saga Traustadottir and Washington State's Amy Chu split the player crown with first rounds of two-under 70.
The Gophers will play round two tomorrow, with tee times beginning at 10 a.m.