Baylor WGOLF Finishes Fourth at the Match in the Desert

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Jan. 22, 2024

Baylor WGOLF Finishes Fourth at the Match in the Desert
BU’s Belsham and Kaur lead the way with a pair of 3-under 69s
For more information, contact Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

GOLD CANYON, Ariz. – Baylor women’s golf opened its spring semester with a fourth-place finish at the Match in the Desert on Monday at Superstition Mountain Golf Club.

Following solid finishes to the fall season, Baylor's Rosie Belsham and Ashleen Kaur got off to good starts in the spring with a pair of top-10 finishes, as both came home tied for sixth.

The five-team event featured three top-25 teams. No. 6 UCLA took home the team title with a 17-under 271. Future Big 12 rivals No. 25 Arizona and No. 21 Arizona State finished just ahead of the Bears at 14-under and 9-under, respectively. Kansas finished in fifth place at five-under, two shots behind the Bears.

THE RUNDOWN
Belsham got off to a good start with three straight pars, followed by three straight birdies to get to 3-under for the round. A bogey at No. 8 put her at 2-under at the turn. Her fourth birdie of the day came at No. 14, but was offset by a bogey at No. 15. The senior bounced back with a final birdie of the day at No. 16 to polish off her team-leading sixth round at par or better this season.

Kaur came out of the box firing on Monday with a birdie-birdie start before her lone blemish of the front nine came as a bogey at No. 7. She rebounded with a birdie at No. 9 to get to 2-under at the turn, where she would stay through 15 holes. A bogey at the 16th was quickly erased with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 to finish off a 3-under 69.
Silje Ohma finished tied for 17th in her first event since early October. The sophomore played her first three holes at 4-over par, thanks to a triple-bogey at No. 2 and a bogey at No. 3. Her first birdie of the day came at No. 9, closing out a front-nine 39. A quick bogey on No. 10 dropped her back to 4-over, before she made a blistering run to finish the round. An eagle at No. 13 started a run where Ohma played the final six holes at 5-under to finish the day in red numbers with a 1-under 71.

BaiMai Seema carded her fourth-career top-25 finish with a tie for 23rd at the Match in the Desert. The junior jumped into red figures with an early birdie at No. 2 but made the turn at even following a bogey at No. 8. A second bogey dotted her card at No. 12, but she quickly bounced back with a birdie at No. 13 to cruise home with an even-par 72.

Yoonjeong Huh put together a 1-over 73 on Monday and was good enough for a tie for 27th. The freshman played her first six holes at 1-under par, highlighted by a birdie at No. 4. A bogey at No. 7 and a double-bogey at No. 9, however, dropped her back to 2-over at the turn. Huh battled her way back to even par with birdies at Nos. 10 and 13 but made a second double-bogey at No. 15. Still, she closed with a birdie to get back to 1-over for the day.

Britta Snyder and Mallory Matthews competed as individuals. Snyder carded a 3-over 75 to finish 32nd, while Matthews finished 33rd with a 5-over 77.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Baylor carded the second-most birdies in the field on Monday (20).
  *   Rosie Belsham notched her 17th-career top-10 finish
  *   Belsham now has a team-leading six rounds at par or better.
  *   The senior tied for the second-best par-4 scoring average (3.70)
  *   Ashleen Kaur recorded her career-best finish (t-6th).
  *   Kaur now has four rounds at par or better this season.
  *   BaiMai Seema recorded her fourth-career top-25 finish.
  *   Seema tied for the second-most pars in the field on Monday (14)


QUOTABLE:

Head Coach Jay Goble — “I think today was a good start to our season, and I am proud of the grit we showed today. With the cold weather in Waco, I would say that we were pretty rusty, but today showed us that we have some game. It was also nice to see some places where we can improve before our next event in a couple of weeks out in Palos Verdes, Calif.”

WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will tee it up in the T. Hession Regional Challenge Feb. 4-6 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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