New Mexico Lobos Women’s Golf at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational
When/Where: 8 a.m., Monday-Tuesday (Sept. 15-16) — UNM Championship Course
The Field vs. New Mexico: Brigham Young, California-Berkeley, California-Davis, Colorado State, Denver, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas State, UNLV, Nevada, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Texas-El Paso.
The 2014-15 Lobos, Manon Mollé, Katerina Jaeger, Kalyn Thayer, Eva Saulnier, Ingrid Gutierrez, Alexandra Moisand.
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Albuquerque, N.M. – Coach Jill Trujillo can relate to what Lobo football coach Bob Davie has been facing with arguably his No. 1 player, Cole Gautsche, sidelined with injury.
Trujillo, the Lobos’ women’s golf coach, faces exactly the same thing. However, there might not be any argument that Manon Mollé is New Mexico’s top golfer based on the stats and the season she pushed out in 2013-14.
Mollé, who posted one of the best stroke averages ever for a New Mexico freshman at 75.6, made a run for the 2014 Mountain West title before finishing fifth for the MW team champions. Mollé is out for the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational after fracturing her foot. She will be evaluated throughout the fall season to see if she can return to the course, but she should be at full strength for the spring season.
When the tournament begins Monday at the UNM Championship Course, Mollé will be encouraging her teammates from a golf cart.
“The rest of the girls need to take up the torch,” said Trujillo. “You still need to take care of your personal business whether Mimo (Mollé) is in the lineup or not.
“I expect that they’ll rally behind her. We’re not necessarily in a deep hole, but when your No. 1 player is out, it can cause a little disruption. Your leader is gone. You still have to score as a team to have success, but of course we’ll miss her scores.”
Trujillo is taking to the course with one of the younger lineups in the nation, but it really didn’t get much younger with Mollé sidelined. That’s because the UNM lineup can’t get much younger. Trujillo has four sophomores and two freshmen on this year’s roster. She’ll take to the Branch/McGuire with three sophomores and the two freshmen.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament begins with an 8 a.m., shotgun start on Monday. The teams will play 36 holes on Monday and a final 18 on Tuesday with another 8 a.m. shotgun start. There will be a practice round Sunday at 1 p.m. The tournament is open to the public.
The Lobos take a lot of youth into a 16-team field that features nine teams ranked in the Top 50 of Golfweek’s preseason rankings. Of course, all teams are still figuring a few things out for this season, but that list also is based on the talent teams are returning from 2013-14.
Pepperdine, the defending Branch/McGuire champions, is ranked No. 12 followed by No. 14 Northwestern and No. 15 Oklahoma State.
“Pepperdine has broken a lot of records at a lot of tournaments over the years,” said Trujillo. “They are strong again.”
Trujillo said her Lobos beat Pepperdine in the Branch/McGuire one year and that win was sparked by a freshman (Rebecca Hellbom). “When your freshmen just go out there and relax and turn their game up and realize that golf is fun game to play, you never know what can happen,” said Trujillo.
The Lobos need that relaxed attitude – and good golf – from two freshmen and three sophomores Monday and Tuesday on the Championship Course.
“There are a lot of good teams here,” said Trujillo. “California, Iowa State, UNLV, Denver, Gonzaga, UC Davis are all (Top 50). It’s a very strong field and we have to go out there and shoot some strong numbers.”
Trujillo’s lineup for the Branch/McGuire has three sophomores inKaterina Jaeger, Kalyn Thayer and Eva Saulnier and two freshmen in Ingrid Gutierrez and Alexandra Moisand. UNM lost Sammi Stevens, Manon De Roey and Sofia Hoglund to graduation and has no choice but to go with the youth movement in 2014-15.
Jaeger and Saulnier were in the lineup for the Mountain West Championships and also the 2014 NCAA Regional.
The Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational is one of the nation’s top collegiate tournaments and the Championship Course is a big reason why. It can play long and the huge, undulating greens put a premium on hitting the right spots to avoid the hated three-putt. The New Mexico fall weather also is a strong lure to golfers.
The Lobos have won their fall classic seven times dating back to its original roots in 1956, but the Championship Course does not roll over for anybody. “When it is your tournament on your course, sometimes you take things for granted,” said Trujillo. “You have to be tournament ready and not let the course sneak up and get you.”
The Pepperdine Waves returns to defend the team title they won by 12 shots in 2013. The Waves return Marissa Chow, the tourney runner-up in 2013, and Somin Lee, who tied for third place. Pepperdine also returns three-year letterwinner Alina Ching. Pepperdine lost All-American Grace Na to graduation.
Iowa State, the 2012 Branch/McGuire team champ, returns looking to make it two out of three.
The 2014 tourney will have a new individual champ. Oregon’s Cassy Isagawa won last year’s event, but Oregon is not in this year’s field. Isagawa tied the tournament’s individual record in 2013 with a winning card of 70-68-69–207. Isagawa won the Branch/McGuire by six shots – 12-under for the 54 holes.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and Sports Columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.
Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational Stats & Facts
When/Where: September 14-15-16 (competition on Monday-Tuesday) — UNM Championship Course – Albuquerque, N.M.
The Field vs. New Mexico: Brigham Young, California-Berkeley, California-Davis, Colorado State, Denver, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas State, UNLV, Nevada, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Texas-El Paso.
The 2014-15 Lobos, Manon Mollé, Katerina Jaeger, Kalyn Thayer, Eva Saulnier, Ingrid Gutierrez, Alexandra Moisand.
Sunday: Practice Round – 1 p.m. shotgun start
Monday: First-Second Rounds – 8 a.m., shotgun start
Tuesday: Third (Final) round – 8 a.m., shotgun start followed by awards
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational began in 1979, but the Lobo women actually began holding their fall invitational in 1956 when the Lobo women and Lobo men co-hosted the William H. Tucker Invitational. The popularity of the event in New Mexico’s (usually) golf-perfect fall weather forced the two fields to separate.
WAVES LOOK TO REPEAT: The 2014 Branch/McGuire could see a back-to-back champion as the Pepperdine Waves return to defend the team title they won by 12 shots in 2013. The Waves return Marissa Chow, the tourney runner-up in 2013, and Somin Lee, who tied for third place. Pepperdine also returns three-year letterwinner Alina Ching. Pepperdine lost All-American Grace Na to graduation. Chow tied the tournament record over the final 18 holes with a 68.
Pepperdine also won the New Mexico invite in 2009 and 2005. The Waves hold the tournament record for final-round score (284), 36-hole team score (575) and 54-hole team score (859). The lowest 18-hole card ever recorded was a 281 by New Mexico in 2003 when UNM won the team and individual titles.
The Waves finished the 2013-14 season with Golfweek’s No. 12 ranking and were No. 18 in Golfstat.com. They came into last year’s tournament with a No. 15 preseason ranking from Golfweek and are No. 12 in 2014. Iowa State, the 2012 Branch/McGuire team champion, returns looking to make it two out of three. Iowa State is ranked No. 26 in Golfweek’s preseason poll. UNM finished eighth last year and has a preseason ranking of No. 67.
NEW INDIVIDUAL CHAMP WILL BE CROWNED: The 2014 tourney will have a new individual champ. Oregon’s Cassy Isagawa won last year’s event, but Oregon is not in this year’s field. Isagawa tied the tournament’s individual record in 2013 with a winning card of 70-68-69–207. Isagawa won the Branch/McGuire by six shots – 12-under for the 54 holes.
TOURNAMENT TEAM RECORDS:
First round team score: 286 – San Jose State – 1994
Second round team score: 281 – New Mexico – 2003
Final round team score: 284 – Pepperdine – 2009; 284 – Pepperdine – 2013
36-hole team score: 575 – Pepperdine – 2009
54-hole team score: 859 – Pepperdine – 2009
INDIVIDUAL SCORING RECORDS
18 Holes: 67 by Jenny Bartley, Oklahoma State,1996; Katharine Hull, Pepperdine, 2002; Karin Sjodin, Oklahoma State, 2003.
First Round: 68 by Rachel Baily, New Mexico State, 2002; Gina Clark, San Diego State, 2012
Second Round: 67 by Jenny Bartley, Oklahoma State, 1996; Katharine Hull, Pepperdine, 2002; Karin Sjodin, Oklahoma State, 2003.
Third Round: 68 ten times; last time by Marissa Chow, Pepperdine, 2013.
36-Hole Card: 138 by Kailin Downs, New Mexico, 2003; Karin Sjodin, Oklahoma State, 2003
54-Hole Card: 207 by Kendra Little, Oregon, 2009; Cassy Isagawa, Oregon, 2013
LAST FIVE WINNING TEAMS: 2009 Pepperdine; 2010 Oregon; 2011 Baylor; 2012 Iowa State; 2013 Pepperdine
LOBO HEAD COACH JILL TRUJILLO: Coach Trujillo is in her eighth season at New Mexico. The former Lobo led New Mexico to three consecutive Mountain West titles from 2008 to 2010 and added her fourth MW championship ring in 2014. UNM won the 2008 Mountain West title by 19 shots on the UNM Championship Course. Before coming to UNM, Trujillo was the head golf professional at the Isleta Eagle Golf Course which is located on the southern edge of Albuquerque. Trujillo won the 1988 New Mexico Women’s State Amateur. The Silver City, N.M., native graduated from UNM in 1990 with a degree in Business Administration. Trujillo was the Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2008 and repeated that honor this past season after her Lobos charged to the 2014 conference title.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE:
UNM’s Championship Course opened in 1967. It has been nationally recognized by Golf Digest Magazine as one of the top-25 public courses in the country. In January of 1991, Golfweek Magazine rated The Championship Course the No. 1 course to play in New Mexico. In 1998, Golfweek tabbed the Championship Course the No. 2 collegiate course in the West, behind the Stanford University Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Championship Course was the site of the 1976 and 1992 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships as well as the 1998 NCAA Championships. In 1987 and 2008, the course was the sight of the women’s NCAA tourney. The par 73 course (women’s tees) boasts fairways that stretch out long and wide, bobbing up and down, both right and left – all factors that make it difficult to reach the rolling, well-manicured greens. Stray shots can land in the rough, loose desert sand, water or sagebrush.
The University of New Mexico Championship Course used to be nicknamed “The Monster,” and sometimes was called “The Green Monster.” The course got that nickname for its length and also because on a windy day the winds would howl across the rolling hills giving voice to “The Monster” label. The course dropped that nickname believing it discouraged the average golfer from tackling this beautiful course. The course also added several tee boxes to give the high-handicapper a better shot at par. The Championship Course is one of the more popular golfing destinations in the Southwest and, depending on where you tee it up, it can be fair, challenging — or somewhat of a beast.