Lobos in Fifth after First Day of Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico women’s golf team began its season-opening event on Monday with the first two rounds of play of the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, presented by Margaret Moses Branch. The Lobos shot 4-over during the first 36 holes at the UNM Championship Course and are in fifth place heading into the final round.
Ohio State is the 36-hole leader at 10-under, while Kent State (4-under) and Iowa State (3-under) also finished the day in red figures. SMU is fourth at 1-over, followed by the Lobos (4-over), Texas Tech (6-over) and USC (6-over).
The Lobos were in sixth place after the first round, posting a 1-over score. They moved up one place on the leaderboard during the second round by shooting 3-over in the afternoon.
“Our first round was pretty steady,” said head coach Jill Trujillo. “We left a lot out there with our putting. The three-putts we had cost us a few spots on the leaderboard. Our team came back really nicely in the second round and fought hard to get those strokes back. What a performance by our freshman, Maria, in her debut. She had terrible nerves in the first round, but came back with such guts in the second round and played well for her team. We played OK today, but it can be a whole lot better tomorrow and I can’t wait see how we play.”
Jenny Lertsadwattana is T-8th on the individual leaderboard at 2-under after posting rounds of 68 and 74. Lauren Lehigh is at 1-over after rounds of 73 and 72. Maria Caparros Levin, in her collegiate debut, followed an opening round 80 with a 3-under 69 in the second round to finish the day at 5-over. Myah McDonald is also at 5-over, while Lisa-Marie Pagliano is at 9-over.
Three Lobos are playing the tournament as an individual, with Annie Saechueng at 3-over, Chloe Lauer at 8-over and Sophia Zamarripa ay 17-over.
The final round of the tournament will be Tuesday at the UNM Championship Course. It will be a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. and admission is free.