The No. 13 Arizona women’s golf team shot an opening round of 301 (17-over-par), good enough to put the team in fifth place at the end of the first day of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.

The Wildcats find themselves only four shots behind tournament leader Pepperdine, who ranks No. 10 in the nation.

UA head coach Greg Allen said he was encouraged by his team’s performance, despite the first-round total of 301.

“”We knew coming in that this was a course where the winning score was going to be over par,”” Allen said. “”We thought if we put up a decent number (yesterday), we would be in pretty good shape to make a run (tomorrow).””

Sophomore Adriana Zwanck shot a first-round 70 (1-under-par) and sits alone in second place, one shot behind Jayvie Agojo of Pepperdine.

Zwanck said her first round was “”good, but inconsistent.””

“”At the beginning of my round, I wasn’t hitting many greens, but my putter was rolling today and that kept me in it.””

Zwanck won two tournaments last year and has a third-place and an eighth-place finish so far this year.

“”She’s one of those people that makes everyone around her better,”” Allen said. “”She doesn’t have as much pressure now that Mary (Jacobs) and Alison (Walshe) are playing with us. That’s how she’s done so well this season.””

Walshe, a junior, shot a 73 (1-over-par) to end the day tied for seventh place.

Since transferring to Arizona from Tulane, Walshe has won two tournaments – one in her first ever competition as a Wildcat – and also finished fifth in another.

“”It’s similar tournamentwise because we play in many of the same tournaments, but as far as personally, it’s better for me here,”” Walshe said of playing for Arizona. “”The weather is perfect, and practice facilities are great.””

Jacobs, a junior who has finished in the top 20 three times already this year, got off to a rough start, shooting a 6-over-par.

“”Mary never really felt comfortable with her driver today, and that didn’t give her the chance to attack greens like I know she wanted,”” Allen said. “”I like her chances the rest of the way, though.””

Senior Rachel Gavin shot 10-over-par, and freshman Emily Mason shot 13-over-par, but her score didn’t count because only the top four finishers for each team go toward team results.

With Walshe, Jacobs and Zwanck all ranked in the top 50 individually, Allen’s squad has a great chance of walking away from Palos Verdes with a championship trophy.

“”Our top three are as good as anyone in the country,”” Allen said, “”but we’re fortunate to be only four off (the leaders). This is a course that demands your full attention at all times because the greens are so fast and they have so much break.

“”We just want to peak for the postseason, which is what really matters.””