No. 24 Baylor WGOLF Closes Strong for 10-shot Win at the Collegiate Invitational

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 6, 2023

No. 24 Baylor WGOLF Closes Strong for 10-shot Win at the Collegiate Invitational
BU’s Rosie Belsham captured her first-career win to lift the Bears to first title of 2022-23
For more information contact: Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Baylor women’s golf won the Collegiate Invitational on Monday at Guadalajara Country Club, the Bears' fourth tournament win in the last 15 events.

Rosie Belsham won her first-career tournament, taking home individual medalist honors with a 54-hole total of 6-under 210, edging out Georgia’s Jenny Bae by a shot. Freshman Silje Ohma recorded her second-career top-5 finish with a 3-under 213, good enough for third place.

BU’s 54-hole score of 8-over 872, bested Florida State’s 18-over 882. Each of Baylor's last four wins has come by at least 10 shots with an average margin of victory of 16.5 shots.

THE RUNDOWN
Belsham began the day shooting a 1-over 37 to finish her second round at even par in a tie for third place. After a bogey to open the third round, the Whitley Bay, England, native, reeled off five birdies over her next eight holes to shoot a 4-under 32 on the front nine. The junior made two more birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 to get to six-under on the round in a tie for first with Bae. Both players bogeyed No. 14, but it was Belsham who made one last birdie at No. 16 to seal the one-shot victory.

Wrapping up round two, Ohma bogeyed her second hole of the day at No. 11, but bounced back with a birdie at 12 and added one more at No. 17 to finish round two at even and tied for third. The freshman also bogeyed No. 1 to open the final round, but responded with birdies at Nos. 5, 7 and 9 to close out the front nine with a 2-under 34. Two more birdies at Nos. 10 and 12 pushed her to 4-under and in the hunt for the lead. A bogey at No. 14 dropped her out of contention for the title, but four pars on the way in secured the freshman's best-career finish.

Anika Veintemilla did not make a par on the back nine of her second round until her sixth hole after a pair of bogeys, a couple of birdies and a double bogey. She finished the first 36 holes at five over for the tournament. The start to the final round began with five-straight pars and a birdie at No. 5 before a bogey at No. 6 put her at even par for the day. The senior doubled No. 10 and followed with bogeys at Nos. 11, 14 and 16 before closing out the tournament with a birdie at No. 18 to clinch a tie for 18th.

Hannah Karg also tied for 18th, her best finish since a tie for 15th at the Big 12 Championship last April. Karg started the day with a bogey at No. 10, resuming her second round. After a pair of birdies at Nos. 11 and 12, she made bogeys at Nos. 14, 16 and 18 to shoot a 77 in the second round. A bogey began her final round, but she picked up a couple of shots with birdies at Nos. 4 and 6 before giving one back at No. 8 for an even-par opening nine. Karg exchanged shots with a bogey at 10 and a birdie at 11 and made three more bogeys down the stretch at Nos. 13, 15 and 16.

After playing her first 27 holes at 9-over, Britta Snyder made an early birdie on Monday at No. 11, but gave three shots back with bogeys at Nos. 12, 14 and 16 en route to a second-round 76. The junior made four bogeys on the opening nine of the final round and followed up with three bogeys around her only birdie of the day at No. 11 to finish in a tie for 47th.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   The win marks the 21st of the Jay Goble era (fifth-straight season).
  *   BU has won nine events over the last three seasons.
  *   Belsham is the 11th different player Goble has coached to an individual title (18 individual titles).
  *   Belsham’s score of 210 is one of just 15 scores of 210 or better in program history on a par-72 course.
  *   Belsham led the field in par-4 scoring average (3.87), and was four-shots better than the next-best player.
  *   With the win, Belsham moved into the top-10 in career top-fives (5).
  *   Silje Ohma led the field with 12 birdies for the week.
  *   Baylor was the only team to finish under par on the par-3’s this week.
  *   The Bears were one of two teams to be under par on the par-5’s.


QUOTABLE:
Head coach Jay Goble – “I am so proud of this group,” he said. “This is a challenging golf course that tests every part of your game and every bit of your patience. For them to battle the way they did, and continue to grind for two-straight days just shows really how great they are.”

“I am very proud and happy for Rosie,” he said. “She puts in the hard work every day to get better. She is gaining confidence, and I believe the sky is the limit for her. Silje also put in an amazing performance that must be recognized. She made some of these par-5s look easy and kept her composure all weekend. She has a bright future ahead of her.”

WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will be right back in action next week when they compete in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge, Feb. 12-14 at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes, Calif.

For more information on Baylor Women’s Golf, follow @BaylorWGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.


—BaylorBears.com—

Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF/)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-227-2280
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