OPELIKA, Ala. – The Vanderbilt women’s golf team opened the NCAA Auburn Regional in superb fashion on Monday, and hold a three-shot cushion entering second round action.
Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen received solid contribution from all five players en route to a 1-under-par team total of 287. The No. 2-seeded Commodores managed the only sub-par total during the opening round at Saugahatchee Country Club, and own a three-stroke advantage over runner-up and top-seed Duke. Florida State and East Carolina are another stroke back at 3-over-par.
The Commodores are looking to advance to the NCAA Championships later this month by finishing among the top six teams after 54 holes on competition. They are also looking for the program’s third NCAA regional crown.
Freshman Auston Kim, fresh off qualifying for the United State Women’s Open, continued their hot streak, leading the Commodores with a 2-under-par 70. She also owns a share of the individual lead with Virunpat Olankitkunchai of Maryland and Micheala Williams of Tennessee.
Kim received plenty of support from her Commodore teammates. Senior Courtney Zeng put together a remarkable round of 1-under-par 71, while junior Abbey Carlson and sophomore Louise Yu added to the Commodore score by shooting even-par 72.
Allen was pleased with his squad, but said they have plenty of work to do the next two days to move on to the nationals.
“The girls did a really great job of coming out and taking care of business today. Obviously, there’s a lot more golf to be played but they’ve taken just a little bit of the pressure off,” Allen said. “We need to continue to stay in the moment, be in control of our emotions and keep doing the things that we’re doing.”
The Commodores will be paired with Duke and Florida State for the second consecutive round on Tuesday. Morgan Baxendale will be the first Vanderbilt player on the course Tuesday, teeing off at 9:50 a.m.
The Commodores rebounded impressively from a slow start to gain the first-round lead. Over their last 14 holes, the Vanderbilt contingent amassed 12 birdies and just eight birdies.
Zeng, who has provided tremendous leadership throughout the year, put together a remarkable round. After opening with three straight bogies, Zeng steadied yourself, then fired five birdies on the back nine to finish with a 71.
Zeng gave credit to assistant coach Emilie Meason after they spoke briefly on the fourth tee.
“I had a good conversation with Burger (Meason),” Zeng said. “She just reminded me that it’s a marathon not a sprint. That allowed me to keep my tempo and get into a better feel for the rest of the holes.”
While Zeng was putting together a superb back-nine, Kim was methodical. The long-hitting freshman made the turn in 2-under, then played the back nine in even-par to notch her 2-under-par 70.
Like Zeng, Carlson rebounded impressively following a double-bogey on the par-3 fourth hole. She played her closing 14 holes in 1-under.
Yu fought around even-par for the entire round. She finished with two birdies in a round of 73.
Baxendale made birdies on the first and 17th holes, but couldn’t make another in a round of 3-over 75.
“Auston played really great and seemed to be in control from the very beginning. Court (Zeng) showed a lot of grit and kept battling after that slow start. I thought Abbey and Lou (Yu) showed a lot of patience all day. And Morgan making a birdie coming down the stretch shows me she’s got a lot of fight in her,” Allen said.
The Commodores’ impressive opening round was evident in the course stats. They topped the other 17 teams with a 4-under total on the par-5s, and tied for the lowest team score on par-4s. They also tied for second with 14 birdies and were third with 61 pars.
NCAA Auburn Regional
Saugahatchee Country Club, par 72, 6,371 yards
First Round Results
Team Standings
Vanderbilt -1 287
Duke +2 290
Florida State +3 291
East Carolina +3 291
Tennessee +6 294
Maryland +6 294
Virginia +8 296
Auburn +11 299
Furman +11 299
Alabama +12 300
Denver +16 304
California +16 304
Houston +18 306
Clemson +19 307
Kennesaw St. +20 308
Albany +21 309
So. Alabama +22 310
Murray State +24 312
Vanderbilt Individuals
T-1. Austin Kim -2 70
T-4. Courtney Zeng -1 71
T-10. Abbey Carlson +1 73
T-10. Louise Yu +1 73
T-34. Morgan Baxendale +3 75
