TAMUC – Golf

Lions in middle of pack after first round at competitive Skyhawk Regional Preview

DURANGO, Colo. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s golf team sits in 10th place after the opening round of the Skyhawk West Regional Invitational, played Monday. The Lions shot a 309 (+25) on the par 71-layout which will also be the course for the NCAA West Regional Tournament in May 2018.

On a considerably tougher course than last week’s season-opening event, the Lions are only nine strokes back of second place, but only seven strokes of a three-way tie for 15th place. Three of the top five teams in last year’s Division II championship is in the tournament field, led by national runner-up Dallas Baptist at 285. The Lions are nine strokes behind West Texas A&M, who finished fourth at nationals last year, and seven strokes back of St. Mary’s, who was fifth at nationals.

Anya Andres and Lauren Leslie lead the Lions, who each shot 4-over par 75 in the opening round to sit in a tie for 14th place on the individual leaderboard. Leslie had three birdies on the day, while Anders had one birdie in the round.

Sophie-Charlott Hempel is tied for 31st with a 6-over par 77, shooting even par with two birdies in her final 11 holes of the day. Celeste Emeott and Paige Lee Garris are tied for 76th on the leaderboard at 11-over par 82.

The Lions will look to climb the tightly-bunched team leaderboard Tuesday, grouped with Rogers State, Cal State Monterey Bay, and Academy of Art. The shotgun start of the final round will be at 9:00 a.m. MDT.