Monday, September 14
Seattle, WA
SMU
at
Leadership & Sports Invitational Day 1
Photo by: Noah Shirk
Jin’s Career Low Puts SMU Women’s Golf In Top 5 At Leadership And Sports Invitational
Sep 14 | Women's Golf
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. (SMU) – A career-low 66 from senior Grace Jin helped SMU kick off its season on Monday at the Leadership and Sports Invitational at Chambers Bay Golf Club. With 18 holes to play, the Mustangs sit third with an 1-under par 36-hole total.
ROUND 1
Head coach Lauren Mason's squad got off to a hot start, collecting eight early birdies. The team posted a 7-under 281 to lead the field after the first round. Mason has now guided the Mustangs to 65 rounds of under par or better over the past four seasons.
Senior Grace Jin birdied three of her first five holes and never looked back. The Texas native put together five straight pars before picking up birdies on No. 6 and No. 9 to post a front-nine 35. A sixth birdie of the day on No. 11 and two pars to close out her round produced a career-low and bogey-free 66 to lead the individual tournament after the first 18 holes. It was Jin's fourth round in the 60s since arriving on the Hilltop.
Yoonjeong Huh also utilized four birdies on the back nine to lift her score in the morning. Starting on the par-three 15th, Huh only needed two strokes to begin her day. She would pick up a birdie on No. 18 and post a 39 on the front nine before birdieing No. 11 and No. 13 to secure a 2-under 70.
Houston transfer Maelynn Kim didn't waste any time collecting an under-par round as a Mustang. Two straight birdies to begin her SMU career had her off and running. A consistent morning round saw Kim card three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under 71.
Celine Chen rounded out the counting scores for the morning round with a 2-over 74. Chen was one of four Mustangs to take advantage of the par-5 18th and also found a birdie on the short par-4 12th.
Kirra St-Laurent avoided the big number all morning. Three birdies and seven bogeys added up to a 4-over 76 for the sophomore.
ROUND 2
SMU showed its resilience to adversity on Monday afternoon. Despite dropping strokes early in the round, Mason's Mustangs regrouped for 10 total birdies across the final six holes to claim third place (-1) with 18 holes to play.
St-Laurent rebounded with a solid round in the afternoon. After seven consecutive pars, she found her rhythm around the clubhouse turn, grabbing birdies on No. 9, 11, 12 and 13. She capped off her round with a fourth birdie in five holes on the par-3 15th to close the afternoon with a 4-under 68.
Like most of the Mustangs, Jin was able to battle back after a slow start. Jin finished Monday with two birdies in her last four holes for a 3-over 75. With 18 holes to play on Tuesday, Jin leads SMU individually at 3-under and tied for fifth.
Celine Chen remained consistent throughout the day in University Place. Like most of the Mustangs, Chen took advantage of holes 10-14, playing them in 2-under to finish her round at 3-over 75.
Kim posted a 74, finding two birdies down the stretch to draw the Mustangs closer to the leaders. Huh finished with a 77.
SMU Scores
T5. Grace Jin -3 (66-75)
T13. Kirra St-Laurent E (76-68)
T22. Yoonjeong Huh +3 (70-77)
T22. Maelynn Kim +3 (71-77)
T36. Celine Chen +5 (74-75)
Team Scores Top 10
ROUND 1
Head coach Lauren Mason's squad got off to a hot start, collecting eight early birdies. The team posted a 7-under 281 to lead the field after the first round. Mason has now guided the Mustangs to 65 rounds of under par or better over the past four seasons.
Senior Grace Jin birdied three of her first five holes and never looked back. The Texas native put together five straight pars before picking up birdies on No. 6 and No. 9 to post a front-nine 35. A sixth birdie of the day on No. 11 and two pars to close out her round produced a career-low and bogey-free 66 to lead the individual tournament after the first 18 holes. It was Jin's fourth round in the 60s since arriving on the Hilltop.
Yoonjeong Huh also utilized four birdies on the back nine to lift her score in the morning. Starting on the par-three 15th, Huh only needed two strokes to begin her day. She would pick up a birdie on No. 18 and post a 39 on the front nine before birdieing No. 11 and No. 13 to secure a 2-under 70.
Houston transfer Maelynn Kim didn't waste any time collecting an under-par round as a Mustang. Two straight birdies to begin her SMU career had her off and running. A consistent morning round saw Kim card three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under 71.
Celine Chen rounded out the counting scores for the morning round with a 2-over 74. Chen was one of four Mustangs to take advantage of the par-5 18th and also found a birdie on the short par-4 12th.
Kirra St-Laurent avoided the big number all morning. Three birdies and seven bogeys added up to a 4-over 76 for the sophomore.
ROUND 2
SMU showed its resilience to adversity on Monday afternoon. Despite dropping strokes early in the round, Mason's Mustangs regrouped for 10 total birdies across the final six holes to claim third place (-1) with 18 holes to play.
St-Laurent rebounded with a solid round in the afternoon. After seven consecutive pars, she found her rhythm around the clubhouse turn, grabbing birdies on No. 9, 11, 12 and 13. She capped off her round with a fourth birdie in five holes on the par-3 15th to close the afternoon with a 4-under 68.
Like most of the Mustangs, Jin was able to battle back after a slow start. Jin finished Monday with two birdies in her last four holes for a 3-over 75. With 18 holes to play on Tuesday, Jin leads SMU individually at 3-under and tied for fifth.
Celine Chen remained consistent throughout the day in University Place. Like most of the Mustangs, Chen took advantage of holes 10-14, playing them in 2-under to finish her round at 3-over 75.
Kim posted a 74, finding two birdies down the stretch to draw the Mustangs closer to the leaders. Huh finished with a 77.
SMU Scores
T5. Grace Jin -3 (66-75)
T13. Kirra St-Laurent E (76-68)
T22. Yoonjeong Huh +3 (70-77)
T22. Maelynn Kim +3 (71-77)
T36. Celine Chen +5 (74-75)
Team Scores Top 10
- Tulsa -5
- Colorado -3
- SMU -1
- Oregon State +1
- Eastern Michigan +3
- UC Davis +8
- San Jose State +10
- Little Rock +13
- Santa Clara +14
- Washington +16
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Thursday, September 24
Thursday, September 24
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