Sept. 22, 2005
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The University of New Mexico hosts one of the premier collegiate women’s golf tournaments in the country – the 27th annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational – Sept. 26-28 at the UNM Championship Course. The tournament features 18 teams, plus eight individuals. Live stats of the entire tournament will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
THE FIELD: BYU, Baylor, California, Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Ohio State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, South Carolina, Southern Cal, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulsa, UNLV and UTEP.
LAST YEAR’S McGUIRE: Georgia took both the team and individual titles in 2004. Led by a record-breaking performance from Kelly Froelich, the 2nd-ranked Bulldogs were the only team in the 17-team field to finish under par at 2-under 874, seven shots better than host New Mexico. Froelich set a McGuire tournament mark by firing a 10-under 209 over 54 holes.
NEW MEXICO AND THE McGUIRE: New Mexico will be shooting for its fourth Dick McGuire championship in the past five years and seventh overall. The Lobos became the first school in McGuire history to win three straight titles from 2001-03. In 2003, the Lobos shot a course-record 295-281-295–871 for the 54 holes.
McGUIRE HISTORY: The 2005 season marks the 27th anniversary of the Dick McGuire Golf Invitational. From its beginning in 1979, the McGuire Invite annually showcases the best that women’s college golf has to offer.
The origin of the McGuire dates back much earlier than 1979. From 1956 to 1978 the top women’s teams in the nation competed with men’s teams at the William H. Tucker Invitational. The combined tournament each fall was the premier college golf event of its time. This event grew in such magnitude for both the men and the women that each side needed its own separate tournament. So in 1979 the women’s field branched off to the McGuire Invitational, while the men still play the Tucker. Both tournaments remain staples on the respective schedules of all the top college golf programs in the country today. In the 24 previous tournaments, the team champion from the McGuire has gone on to capture the NCAA Division I Golf Championship seven times. Branch Law Firm in Albuquerque became the title tournament sponsor of the Dick McGuire Invitational in 2003-04.
LOBO LINEUP: Head coach Jackie Booth will send out Ashley Rollins, Mikaela Backstedt, Christine Fernandez, Giselle Claux and Alexandra Phelps. Py Bengtsson will play as an individual.
RECAP FROM PTARMIGAN: The Lobos opened the season Sept. 12-13 by finishing second among 18 teams at the Ptarmigan/Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. UNM shot a 10-over 874, 15 shots behind champion Baylor.
Individually, junior Ashley Rollins had the best tournament of her collegiate career. Rollins finished 4th with a 2-under 214, the first time she has finished under par while participating for UNM. Rollins also broke 70 for the first time with a 3-under 69 in the final round. Her previous low was 70 on two occasions. Fourth place ties Rollins’ best collegiate finish. She also finished 4th at last year’s MWC Championships.
Two Lobo freshmen – Mikaela Backstedt and PyBengtsson – performed admirably in their first collegiate competition. Backstedt finished in a tie for 10th at 2-over 218 (71-73-74) while Bengtsson tied for 14th at 4-over 220, including a 3-under 69 in the second round.
Sophomores Alexandra Phelps (T21st, 224, +8) and Giselle Claux (T33rd, 227, +11) rounded out the Lobo scoring.
ROLLINS OFF TO TORRID START: Junior Ashley Rollins showed earlier this month that she is ready for the season, firing a UNM Championship Course record 8-under-par 65 during a qualifying round for the season-opening tournament at Colorado State. Rollins is a two-time all-conference performer and was the 2004 Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
ADDING TO THE CASE?: The Lobos are gunning for their 13th team title since 2001.
FROM COACH Jackie Booth: “The McGuire will be another good test of college golf. It’s one of the premier tournaments in the country. As usual, the field is strong and we look forward to the competition. I was pleased with our performance at Colorado State, especially the freshmen.”
UPCOMING GOLF CLINIC: The Don Chalmers “Golf Clinics for Women” series is one of the opportunities the Lobos have to give service to a very generous community. This fall’s final clinic, which are free and held at the UNM Championship Course, will be Saturday, Sept. 24 from 10-11 a.m. The world famous Lobo sidewalk sale will also be held from 9-10 a.m. and 11-noon.
Since the program’s inception, the Lobo players and coaches have taught over 400 of Albuquerque’s growing community of women golfers.
OUTSTANDING IN THE CLASSROOM: The New Mexico women’s golf team posted the third best GPA in the nation in 2004-05 with an outstanding 3.628 cumulative mark. UNM placed five student-athletes (Giselle Claux, Kailin Downs, Alexandra Phelps, Christina Spence and Ashley Rollins) on the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Scholar Team released earlier in the summer. South Carolina won the inaugural NGCA award with a 3.752 GPA. The brand new award recognizes the women’s collegiate golf program with the highest collective average team GPA.
Top 5 Team GPAs
1. South Carolina 3.752
2. UNC Wilmington 3.672
3. New Mexico 3.628
4. Washington State 3.625
5. Northern Arizona 3.620
NCAAs AT UNM IN 2008: The NCAA announced last fall that the 2008 Division I Women’s Golf Championships will be played at The Championship Course. The event, scheduled for May 20-23, 2008, marks the fifth time that the NCAA Championships will be held in Albuquerque.
The UNM Championship Course, which was recently named one of the top 10 collegiate courses in the nation by Golfweek magazine, is no stranger to major tournaments. It was the site of the 1976, 1992 and 1998 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships as well as the 1991, 1995 and 2002 NCAA West Regionals. In 1987, the course hosted the NCAA Women’s Championships, and was also the site of the 1994 NCAA Women’s West Regional. The home course advantage helped the Lobos in 1987, as Caroline Keggi claimed UNM’s only individual national title in golf.
“This is really exciting for our program,” said New Mexico women’s golf coach Jackie Booth. “This will definitely help in recruiting our future classes, knowing that they will be able to play the site of the NCAA Championships every day.”
Booth has experience coaching and hosting the NCAA Championships. When she was the head coach at New Mexico State, the Aggies hosted the 1988 NCAA Championships in Las Cruces.
“It was a great experience at New Mexico State – they really rolled out the red carpet for the event, and I’m expecting the university and the city will do everything they can in making this a first-class event for all the participants from across the country,” Booth said. “It will be a lot of fun to have the biggest tournament of the season right in our back yard.
“It’s an honor for our course to be considered an NCAA site,” said Booth. “I always felt like it was one of the top collegiate courses in the country. When I’m recruiting, I know that if they can play well on our course, they can play well anywhere. The size of the greens and the length of the course presents an immense challenge for any player.”
NCAA Events at the UNM Championship Course
1976 Men’s NCAA Championships
1987 Women’s NCAA Championships
1991 Men’s NCAA West Regional
1992 Men’s NCAA Championships
1994 Women’s NCAA West Regional
1995 Men’s NCAA West Regional
1998 Men’s NCAA Championships
2002 Men’s NCAA West Regional