Women's Golf Ninth After Day One of Spring Opener
2/23/2020 7:26:00 PM | Women's Golf
Bolden, Beijer lead way with top-25 showings
The Mizzou Women's Golf team opened its 2020 spring season Sunday with 36 holes of play in day one at the Westbrook Invitational in Peoria, Ariz., where the Tigers stood tied for ninth overall in the 16-team competition held at Westbrook Village Golf Course. Mizzou opened the tournament with a team round of 285 (good for sixth-best of round one), and followed with a 290 in the afternoon for a 575 total that left them tied for ninth along with Ohio State, just seven shots out of fifth place (UNLV - 568).
Freshman Bri Bolden (Mokena, Ill.) fired rounds of 68 and 73 for a 36-hole total of 141 which puts her tied for 17th heading into Monday's final round of action. The four-under par 68 marked a collegiate best for Bolden, three shots better than her fall best of 71 (Jim West Challenge - 1st round). Bolden's opening tour was bogey-free and featured four birdies, including three on the back nine. The afternoon round saw Bolden record one birdie with a pair of bogeys to come home one over on the round, but three under for the day.
"The entire day consisted of a calm heart," said Bolden. "The first round came very natural to me, I hit a lot of greens and the birdie putts fell. It was exciting to start the spring off strong. The second round was tougher, I didn't have as many birdie chances but I was pleased that I was able to make some saves when I needed to and finished strong. It's exciting to get back into tournament mode," she said.
Junior Noelle Beijer (Assendelft, The Netherlands) also stands in the top-25 individually after day one, after rounds of 72 and 70 (142 total) that leaves her tied for 22nd. She carded nine birdies overall in the two rounds, including five in the morning and four more in the afternoon. Beijer said she was pleased with her ability to bounce back after a start that saw her card four bogeys in her first seven holes on the day (in her final 29 holes, she had just three bogeys). She birdied her final two holes of the day to give her some momentum heading into Monday.
"My main focus of both rounds was getting my hips through," said Beijer. "I had to fight back a little with the start I had, but I got it together after the first nine. I was fighting myself as much as the course, and I made some dumb mistakes early on, but the second round was a lot better and I settled in and gave myself much better opportunities to go low. I'm beyond excited for the final round tomorrow and I can't wait for us to drop some spots," she said.
A pair of Tigers stand four shots back of Beijer, tied for 48th place individually through two rounds. Senior Cherise Otter (Bloomington, Ind.) and freshman Sophia Yoemans (Red Wing, Minn.) both shot 176 totals for day one, with Otter carding a pair of one-over par 73s, while Yoemans fired an even-par 72 in the morning and followed with a two-over 74 in the second round.
Sophomore Keagan Dunn (Braselton, Ga.) made her first start of the 2019-20 season, and is tied for 70th after day one, with rounds of 76 and 74 for a 150 total.
Mizzou will look to move up the leaderboard in Monday's final round, which gets started at 9:30 a.m. (central time). Live scoring is available at https://birdiefire.com/tournament/63152/
For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Golf, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MUWomensGolf) and on Facebook at MizzouWomensGolf.
Players Mentioned
