SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico – The Vanderbilt women’s golf team will enter second-round play Saturday at the Battle at the Beach in contention after a solid opening-round performance Friday.
The Commodores, competing for the third consecutive year on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, finished the opening round in third place among 16 participating teams. The Vanderbilt lineup opened with a team score of 10-over par 298.
The Commodores, ranked a consensus top-15 team nationally will enter the second round five strokes behind first-round leading LSU, who posted a five-over total of 293. The Tigers are followed by Texas A&M (296), Vanderbilt, TCU (299), Virginia Tech (300) and San Jose State (300).
Junior Louise Yu paced the Commodores in the first round, carding an even-par round of 72. Yu is tied for ninth place in the medalist competition.
The Club Campestre San Jose layout, designed through foothills overlooking the Pacific Ocean, again proved a tough test for the Commodores. The Vanderbilt contingent combined for 16 birdies, but also posted five double bogeys, a triple bogey and a quad.
Head coach Greg Allen acknowledged the difficult scoring conditions affected his squad.
“Today was a bit of a struggle. The conditions were tough, with winds consistently at 15-20 (miles per hour) and even worse early in the round.” Allen said. “We didn’t always make the right adjustment and we chould have played the par fives better, but we have time to correct today’s mistakes. There’s a lot of golf left to play.”
Yu, from Duluth, Georgia, used six birdies to offset a pair of double bogeys during her even-par performance. She also registered a birdie-birdie finish to post the low Commodore individual score.
Auston Kim, a sophomore from St. Augustine, Florida, gave the Commodores strong support behind Yu, firing a 2-over-par 74. Kim is tied for 18th place in the individual race.
A closing double bogey kept Abbey Carlson from a top-15 effort. The senior from Lake Mary, Florida garnered three birdies in a 3-over-par 75. She will enter the second round in a tie for 22nd place.
Juniors Virginia Green and Morgan Baxendale posted rounds of 5-over-par 77 and 6-over-par 78, respectively.
Second round action will begin Saturday at 10:30 a.m. CT with a shotgun start.
Battle at the Beach First Round Results
Team Standings
1. LSU 293. 2. Texas A&M 296. 3. Vanderbilt 298. 4. TCU 299. T-5. Virginia Tech 300. T-5. San Jose State 300. T-7. Ole Miss 302. T-7. Denver 302. T-9. Missouri 303. T-9. Texas Tech 303. T-9. Augusta 303. 12. Nebraska 308. 13. Kansas State 310. 14. Indianapolis 311. 15. Iowa 312. 16. UAB 318.
Vanderbilt Individuals
T-9. Louise Yu (E) 72
T-18. Auston Kim (+2) 74
T-22. Abbey Carlson (+3) 75
T-43. Virginia Green (+5) 77
T-55. Morgan Baxendale (+6) 78
