The No. 13 Arizona women’s golf team shot a final round of 299 (15-over-par) to finish in fifth place at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif. The Wildcats finished 25 shots behind champion Pepperdine University.
The final round score of 299 was the lowest team total at that tournament since 2001. “”It’s a good start to the spring season,”” UA head coach Greg Allen said. “”I feel like we’re close, we just need to keep working.””
Sophomore Adriana Zwanck shot a third-round 74 (3-over-par) to finish the tournament in seventh place. Junior Alison Walshe fired a 73 (2-over-par), good enough to tie for 12th place and junior Mary Jacobs shot a 70 (1-under-par) to finish tied for eighth place.
Zwanck finished two shots behind tournament champion Misun Cho of Pepperdine who shot a final day 69 (2-under-par) to finish the tournament at 5-over-par.
“”(They’re) three of the very best in the country,”” Allen said.
Despite their play, the Wildcats got poor play from their fourth spot all three rounds.
Senior Rachel Gavin’s round one and three scores counted, in which she shot an 81 and 82, respectively.
Freshman Emily Mason shot an 81 in the second round to qualify as the team’s fourth scorer.
“”I don’t want us to get frustrated with the fact that we had to count three rounds in the 80s as our No. 4 score.”” Allen said. “”I feel like we’ve got four or five girls that are going to be working really hard for the four and five spots and I feel like in the end, we’ll be okay.””
Mason shot a final round of 15-over-par to finish the tournament in 75th place. Gavin finished in last place out of the 78 participants.
Since transferring from Tulane University, Jacobs has finished in the top 20 four times. After struggling in the first round, when she shot a 6-over-par, 77, Jacobs came back to shoot a 74 and 70 in the final two rounds.
“”The first day, my driver definitely struggled and got me in trouble,”” Jacobs said. “”But I worked on it and I putted a lot better today as well.
“”It all came together for me.””
The Wildcats are in action again at home Feb. 26-27 when they host the Wildcat Invitational.
