Sept. 28, 2005
Final Results in PDF Format
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Eileen Vargas shot a 5-under 68 to lead 3rd-ranked Pepperdine to the championship of the 27th Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational being played at the University of New Mexico Championship Course (par 73, 6,069 yards) in Albuquerque.
As a team, the Waves also fired a final round 5-under (287) to finish at 3-under 873, edging unranked Texas A&M by two shots. Host New Mexico, ranked 23rd in the GolfWeek preseason poll, finished third at 6-over 882 followed by No. 14 UNLV (883) and 24th-ranked Ohio State (886).
Vargas, a junior from Ibaque, Colombia, won her first collegiate tournament at 8-under 211 thanks to a torrid 30 (6-under) on the back nine. Vargas birdied four of the first five holes coming home then drained a 10-foot putt for eagle on the 18th to beat Pepperdine teammate Carolina Llano and Texas A&M’s Ashley Knoll by two shots.
Vargas’ 68 tied a final round McGuire record held by four others: Arizona’s Martina Koch in 1986, Arizona’s Leta Lindley and Arizona State’s Wendy Ward in 1994, and New Mexico’s Ryley Webb in 1999.
New Mexico freshman Mikaela Backstedt finished fourth at 4-under 215 followed by UNLV’s Elena Kurokawa at 3-under 216.
The Lobos carded a 2-over 294 in the final round and were within one shot of the lead before losing a few strokes down the stretch.
UNM sophomore Alexandra Phelps and junior Ashley Rollins tied for 21st at 3-over 222, followed by senior Christine Fernandez (8-over 227, T38th) and sophomore Giselle Claux (10-over 229, T45th). Freshman Py Bengtsson, playing as an individual for the Lobos, tied for 10th at 1-under 218.
Complete results are available at www.golfstat.com.
The Lobos’ next competition is Oct. 17-18 at Price’s “Give `Em Five” NMSU Intercollegiate at Las Cruces, N.M.