Feb. 11, 2013
PALOS VERDES, Calif. - The Washington women's golf team learned a valuable lesson on Monday. Sometimes you beat the course, sometimes the course beats you. The top-ranked Huskies - and most of the rest of the 16-team field - were humbled during day one action of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club when the 6,017-yard, par-71 course got the best of most competitors. In U.S. Open-like conditions with tough, undulating greens, Washington combined to shoot 25-over par 309 in the first round of the spring season. The Huskies are tied for 13th in the 16 team field - half of which shot 20-over par or higher. Washington finished second or better in all four of its fall tournaments and won twice to earn its No. 1 ranking. Today's score of 309 was their highest in 13 rounds. UCLA escaped the first round relatively unscathed at +4 to take the early lead. Duke and Florida both shot 6-over 290 and are the only other teams which were below double-digits over par.
Despite the rough start, Husky Coach Mary Lou Mulflur was upbeat and believes her team can still finish among the top half of the field over the next two days. "The golf course is really hard, you can tell that by the scores," Mulfur said from Southern California. "We just need to be patient. It's not a golf course where you can force things." The Huskies top two scorers were a pair of freshmen - Charlotte Thomas and Ying Luo. Thomas shot 3-over 74 and is tied for 19th, while Luo is 6-over and tied for 43rd. Sophomore Cyd Okino, who is competing as an individual and does not count towards the Huskies' team total equaled Luo with a 77. Sophomore SooBin Kim, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 ranked player by Golfweek, shot 78 and is tied for 53rd. Senior Brittany Tallman and sophomore Jennifer Yang each shot 9-over 80 and are tied for 69th. Duke's Alejandra Cangrejo was the only golfer under par with a 1-under 70 to take the first round lead. Eight golfers shot even par and are tied for second. The teams are back on the course tomorrow for 18 more holes before wrapping up on Wednesday.
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