Desert air and sunshine were not enough to cure the ailing play of the No. 17 Arizona women’s golf team yesterday at the Pacific 10 Conference Championships at the Oro Valley Country Club, which finishes with the final round today.
Even though the leading Wildcats from the first round, freshmen Adriana Zwanck and Amanda Wilson, dropped into a 19th-place tie with cumulative scores of 151 (7-over-par), the team was able to see a glimmer of hope. It happened on the 17th, where freshman Sommer Scholl dropped the ball into the cup with one lightning stroke.
ÿ””The hole-in-one was basically the only good thing I did all day,”” Scholl said in a press release, after scrambling to a 7-over-par 79 for the round. “”I have had three other holes-in-one, but this is the first in four years. It was a relief that I didn’t have to putt.””
The rest of the Arizona squad carded a 308 (+20) in round two, keeping them securely seated in the No. 7 spot they also occupied the day before.
“”We got off to a rough start and basically never got better,”” said Greg Allen, the Arizona women’s golf head coach, in a press release.ÿ””Our goal is to finish in the top five so that we can get used to the pressure that we will face during regionals.””
But the Wildcats were not the only team to catch cold yesterday. No. 3 ASU, which topped the leader board in the previous round with a 287 (-1), failed to have a single player shoot under par for the day and finished with a 299 (+11) on the day to drop to second.
“”Our team as a whole really struggled,”” said Melissa Luellen, the ASU women’s golf head coach, in a press release.ÿ “”(Freshman) Jennifer (Osborn) and (junior) Tiffany (Tavee) had two of their highest rounds all year. The team is so close that if it goes bad for one person, it goes that way for all of them.””
No. 2 UCLA filled the void left in the top position by carding a tournament-low 287 (-1). The Bruins’ performance, which tied the Sun Devils’ from Monday, was enough to put them eight strokes ahead of ASU.
Men’s golf tied for third after three rounds
The 2006 Pacific 10 Conference Championships are proving to be a season-boosting event for the No. 26 Arizona men’s golf team, as the team is tied for third place at 11-over-par along with No. 7 ASU after three full rounds were completed yesterday.
The Wildcats will tee off tomorrow around 8 a.m. for their final round at the Canyons at Big Horn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., led by No. 5 UCLA.
The Wildcats are represented well in the individual competition, with two Wildcats among the top five individuals. Freshman Ben Fox is tied for third place in the tournament, carding a 2-under-par 211 for the three rounds thus far.
Junior Henry Liaw is tied for fifth place at 1-under-par and a three-round score of 212. The top of the leader board is being commanded by UCLA sophomore Daniel Im, who is 8-under-par for the tournament.
The Bruins’ team lead over the competition is staggering, as after three rounds they are at 6-under-par. Their closest competition is No. 29 Washington, with the Huskies shooting even par as a team, a 1065 total for the three rounds.
Other Arizona golfers carded competitive rounds yesterday to keep the Wildcats up among the top competitors.
Junior Brian Prouty is tied for 16th place with a combined three-round score of 3-over-par 216. Junior Josh Esler is tied for 21st place; his score is 4-over-par 217.
Sophomore Travis Esway is tied for 28th place after three rounds. His score thus far in the tournament is a seven-over-par 220.
