UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – The Colorado Buffaloes women’s golf team traveled to Washington to compete in the Leadership and Golf Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
The Buffs dominated the first two rounds on Monday.
Through the first round, Colorado had the best team score (-6) and followed that up with a competitive second-round score (+3). At the end of the day, the Buffs sat at No. 2 in the team rankings, trailing the University of Southern California by two strokes. With one more round to play, the Buffs put themselves in a great spot to win their first competition of the season.
Despite the display of excellence during the first two rounds, the black and gold were not able to continue their dominance on the course in the third round. The Buffaloes finished the tournament at the No. 8 spot in the team rankings with a score of 20-over 884.
Maria Eidhagen Harrouch, the senior from Sweden, sat at No. 2 in the individual rankings through two rounds with a 7-under 137. Harrouch shot a 5-under 67 in her first round which beat her previous best round at the Division I level by three strokes. She finished the day off with a 2-under 70 in the second round.
In her first two rounds, Harrouch recorded 12 birdies, the most by any player at the tournament after Monday.
In the third round, Harrouch shot a 5-over 77, taking her out of the race for victory down the stretch. She finished her three rounds in Washington with a score of 2-under 216, landing herself tied at No. 8 in the individual ranking.
Although Harrouch could not shoot under par in the third and final round, her hot start could help reinforce to her and the rest of the competition that she can compete for the individual title. If she can replicate these first two rounds throughout the entirety of the season, she will have no problem reaching her goals of winning the individual title and going pro.
Freshman Ellen O’Shaughnessy shot a 3-under 69 in her first collegiate round. The Dublin native saw her scores slightly decline as she shot a 2-over 74 and a 5-over 77 in her second and third rounds, respectively.
O’Shaughnessy finished the tournament as the second-highest Buff on the individual podium tied at No. 22 with a final score of 4-over 220.
The next Buff in the rankings was Carolyn Fuller, who sat tied at No. 34 with a score of 8-over 224. Fuller played her cleanest game in the first round, scoring a 1-over 73. In the second round, she took one more stroke, leaving her with a score of 2-over 74. Fuller’s third round, like many other Buffs, was not up to par with her first two, ending her last round of the tournament with a 5-over 77.
The highly recruited freshman, Sydney Givens, started her first collegiate competition strong. Givens shot a 1-over 73 in each of her first two rounds, landing her tied at the No. 23 spot in the individual rankings with a score of 2-over 146 through Monday.
The third round was no nicer to Givens than any other Buff. The Texas native shot an 8-over 80 in the final round. Givens finished the two-day tournament tied at No. 41 with a total score of 10-over 226.
Sophomore Francesca Sumcad did not have the best tournament. Her best score was in round two, where she shot a 2-over 74. Every other Buff scored their best in the first round.
Sumcad struggled in both rounds one and three, shooting an 8-over 80 in both.
Her tournament score of 18-over 234 rounded out the Buffs on the individual podium at No. 73.
Since only the best four scores count toward the overall team score, the Buffs team score consisted of the performances of Harrouch, O’Shaughnessy, Fuller and Givens.
The Buffs’ five golfers combined for 51 birdies in 270 total holes played throughout the tournament.
Although Colorado did not finish off the tournament in the best way, the first two rounds were an indicator that this team could be great when they put it all together.
The Buffs will travel to Fort Collins to compete in the Colonel Wollenberg Ram Classic on Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Cover photo by CU Athletics/CUBuffs.com
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