The Arizona women’s golf team won Hawkeye El Tigre Invitational on March 17, winning the tournament by 17 shots over runner-up Kennesaw State. The Wildcats shot an 875 (+11) overall, with junior Haley Moore winning the individual competition. Moore shot a 210 (-6) for her second win of the season, six shots ahead of four golfers.
The victory comes as the first of the season for the Wildcats as a team, with Moore’s being the third individual one. She is now tied for tenth all time in UA history with Natalie Gulbis and Leta Lindley.
“This win meant a lot and it felt good,” Moore said in a press release by Arizona Athletics. “I have had some up and down rounds this spring and to finally put everything together means a lot. I struck the ball the best so far this season and also putted the best.”
Junior Bianca Pagdanganan was leading the tournament after two rounds, but was disqualified after it was ruled she signed an incorrect scorecard after her second round. This brought Arizona’s lead from 18 shots to just seven going into the final round. The Gonzaga transfer was looking for her second win of the season, after winning the Dick McGuire Invitational in September.
Junior Gigi Stoll continued her strong play as of late, finishing tied for 6th after shooting a 219 (+3) for the tournament. This marked her third top-10 finish in her last four events, and her second in the last two tournaments. Freshman Yu-Sang Sou tied for 32nd place at 12-over par. She was coming off of her best finish as a Wildcat last week at the Wildcat Invitational, where she finished fifth. Sophomore Sandra Nordaas finished the event at 21-over par, recovering from a tough opening round to close the tournament out strong.
“I’m proud of the team for fighting through extremely difficult conditions today,” UA head coach Laura Ianello said to Arizona Athletics. “The wind blew 25-30 MPH for 15 of our 18 holes today. Haley and Bianca came through with stellar play and helped us stay ahead. Gigi, Yu-Sang and Sandra also played tough and finished their rounds very strong. It was close with around 7 holes left to play and we only had a 2-stroke lead over Kennesaw State. I am very proud of how the team kept their composure and stayed calm. We played the course tough, making birdies and eagles at crucial times.”
The UA paced the tournament by placing first in scoring on Par-3 and Par-5 holes, and second on Par-4 holes. Moore was also the individual leader in scoring on Par-3 and Par-5 holes, finishing the event even overall on Par-3 holes, and (-8) on Par-5 holes.
The Wildcats are back at it next week at the PING ASU Invitational at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe from March 23-25.
Follow Daily Wildcat Sports on Twitter
