After winning the individual title at the BYU Dixie Classic April 3-4, No. 5 Alison Walshe came up big yesterday late in the first round of the Pacific 10 Conference Championships.

Walshe said she was “”struggling all day,”” but it was birdies on three out of the last four holes that solidified her place in the top 10 after the first round at the Broadmoor Golf Course in Seattle.

“”I didn’t want to come into the tournament with a bad round,”” Walshe said. “”In the last couple of holes I just refocused myself, and I was able to finish with a decent round.””

Behind the Westford, Mass., native’s 3-over-par 75 – which has her tied for ninth on the individual leaderboard – the No. 16 Arizona women’s golf team ended the round tied for fourth place. The Wildcats shot a team total of 21-over 309.

“”We certainly feel like we are lucky to be (in fourth), considering how we played,”” UA head coach Greg Allen said. “”We weren’t hitting the ball particularly well early on, and we were making some silly mistakes.””

No. 2 ASU leads the tournament after shooting the event’s only round below 300. The Sun Devils carded a team total 9-over 298 behind tournament leader Anna Nordqvist, the nation’s No. 2 player, who shot a 4-under 68.

Although the Wildcats are 12 strokes behind tournament leader ASU, Allen said Arizona’s deficit isn’t an insurmountable one.

“”Twelve strokes seems like a lot in golf,”” he said, “”but in reality, when you are 12 strokes down and you have four players scored with two rounds to go, it really isn’t that much.””

Amanda Wilson finished tied for 17th place after shooting a 6-over 78. Mary Jacobs ended the day tied for 23rd place after shooting a 7-over 79.

“”(Yesterday) we didn’t hit a lot of greens,”” Allen said. “”(Today) we need to come out and have all four of our scored players shoot between par and 75, and if that happens, I am sure we will move up.””