It all came down to birdies, and Arizona didn’t sink enough of them.
The No. 10 Arizona women’s golf team claimed second place at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Oahu, Hawaii, two strokes behind tournament winner No. 18 Texas A&M.
After two rounds of play yesterday, the Wildcats led the Aggies by one stroke after carding a 601 (25-over-par) on the par 72, 5,829-yard Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course.
“”I’m really excited about the way Amanda has come along. The biggest difference in her play is her confidence. She’s coming out of her slump at the right time.””
– Greg Allen,
UA head coach
“”They made a few birdies, and we made a few bogeys, and we ended up losing by two,”” UA head coach Greg Allen said. “”We certainly had a chance to win, but we didn’t execute coming out of the last couple of holes. A&M executed very well, on the other hand.””
The Wildcats finished with a total score of 899 (35-over-par) after 54 holes. The Aggies shot a tournament-best 295 in the final round after shooting a 299 and 303 in the first two rounds, respectively.
Individually for Arizona, Alison Walshe, No. 18 individually, shot a 74 on each round to grab fourth on the leaderboard.
“”I think she felt like there were a lot of birdies for her out there (yesterday), but she only made one birdie,”” Allen said. “”But she’s been very consistent though, and she has proven that she’s our No. 1 player this year.””
Junior Mary Jacobs rounded out the trio of Wildcats to finish in the top 10, with a total score of 10-over-par 226 to tie for ninth with A&M’s senior Ashley Knoll. Jacobs carded a team-low 71 (1-under-par) in the final round.
Sophomore Amanda Wilson, who took fifth place, earned her highest finish of the season. The Hilo, Hawaii, native notched a 4-over-par 76 in the final round to bring her tournament total to 7-over-par 223, a far cry from her 17-over-par 213 on Feb. 27.
“”I’m really excited about the way Amanda has come along,”” Allen said. “”The biggest difference in her play is her confidence. She’s coming out of her slump at the right time.””
Arizona plays March 30 through April 1 in the Ping ASU Invitational, hosted by No. 2 ASU in Tempe.
“”We should be able to do all right,”” Allen said. “”We’re starting to come alive and put it together. We’re just going to need more birdies in the future.””
Texas A&M freshman Danielle McVeigh shot a career-low 69 (3-under-par) in the final round to tie Texas-El Paso senior Gerina Mendoza at 1-under-par and set up a playoff. McVeigh birdied two of the last three holes of regulation and the first playoff hole. She rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the playoff hole – while Mendoza made par – to take the first victory of her college career.
