Sept. 16, 2010
The 31st Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational will be held Friday and Saturday at the UNM Championship Golf Course (par-73, 6,187 yards). Seventeen schools will play 36 holes Friday starting at 8 a.m., and 18 holes Saturday, also at 8 a.m. Admission is free. Live stats are available at GolfStat.com.
THE COMPETITORS – The 17-team field includes UNM and every other Mountain West Conference school that sponsors women’s golf: BYU, Colorado State, San Diego State, TCU, UNLV and Wyoming. Also competing are UC Davis, UC Irvine, Colorado, Denver, Georgia State, Hawai’i, Indiana, Northwestern, Ohio State and Oregon.
Denver is the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 16 in the latest Golfweek poll. The Lobos are 20th, Ohio State No. 24 and TCU 26th.
Oregon senior Kendra Little is back to defend her individual title. Last year, Little set a McGuire record with a 54-hole total of 207 (12-under). Six golfers have won back-to-back championships. TCU’s Angela Stanford was the last to do so in 1998-99.
LOBO LINEUP – Head coach Manon de Roey and Sammi Stevens. Senior Jordan Kennon, junior Erin Miller and freshman Sofia Hoglund will compete as individuals.
BRANCH LAW FIRM DICK McGUIRE HISTORY – The 2010 tournament marks the 31st anniversary of the Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational. From its beginning in 1979, the McGuire 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 30 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.
THE LOBOS AND THE McGUIRE – New Mexico is shooting for its eighth McGuire championship, and fifth in the past nine years. The Lobos became the first school in McGuire history to win three straight titles from 2001-03, and they also won in 2008.
Five Lobos have captured the individual title: Pat Park twice in 1962 and `63; Kristi Albers in 1984; Tracy May in 1994; Kailin Downs in 2003 and Jodi Ewart in 2008.
2009 BRANCH LAW FIRM / DICK McGUIRE REVIEW – The University of New Mexico’s bid to make it two in a row at the 30th Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational at the UNM Championship Course came up just short, individually and as a team.
UNM senior Jodi Ewart made a furious charge in the final round with birdies on six of the final 10 holes, but fell one shot shy of defending her individual title. That honor went to Oregon junior Kendra Little, who set a McGuire record with a 12-under 207. Ewart finished at 11-under 208 (69-71-68).
Ewart’s 11-under par and 208 total are New Mexico records for 54 holes. It was a special time for Ewart as well. Her parents – Harvey and Zoe – showed up unannounced on their daughter’s Albuquerque doorstep a few days before the tournament began. They made the flight from Manchester, England, to watch their only child for the first time in a collegiate tournament.
As a team, the Lobos just couldn’t sustain the wave that was Pepperdine. The Waves won the McGuire for the second time – also in 2005 – in record-setting fashion. The 12th-ranked Waves posted an 859 total (17-under), besting the previous tournament standard by 12 strokes. UNM shot 871 in 2003.
No. 21 New Mexico logged a 6-under 286 for the second consecutive round, finishing seven strokes behind Pepperdine at 866 (10-under).
New Mexico sophomore Rebecca Hellbom started the final round in 17th place but roared all the way to a fifth-place tie after posting a 4-under 69. She ended the tournament at 4-under 215 (76-70-69). Senior Britney Choy also recorded a top-10 finish, shooting even-par 73 today to finish at 2-under 217 (74-70-73).
Freshman Beth Buchner tied for 33rd at 226 (75-75-76). Sophomore Sarah Salvo finished at 236 (77-79-80). A pair of Lobos played as individuals. Sophomore Erin Miller shot 236 (78-79-79) while junior Jordan Kennon was at 245 (83-84-78).