K-State Trio Grinds to Top-25 Position After Opening Round in Mexico
Nov 01, 2019 | Women's Golf
SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico – Niamh McSherry saved her best hole for last, sinking a six-foot birdie putt on par-3 No. 15 to salvage a grueling day at San Jose Club Campestre and walk off as one of three Wildcats tied for 22nd with a 3-over 75. As a team, K-State struggled to find a solid fourth score and were 13th in a 16-team field after shooting 22-over 310 through 18 holes at the Battle at the Beach.
"To be honest, I think I deserved that birdie," McSherry said after she and the Wildcats battled gusty wind in the morning before conditions improved over the final holes. "I worked really hard today and 75 felt like 68 in those conditions."
McSherry, Chloe Weir and Reid Isaac all shot 75s in the opening round and were three shots out of the top-10. LSU's Ingrid Lindblad shot an opening round 68 (-4) to lead all individual golfers, a tally that helped the Tigers card a 293 (+5) to lead the team race. Combined, the Wildcats were seven shots out of the top-10 and 10 shots back of San Jose State and Virginia Tech (300) in a tie for fifth.
"We didn't get a fourth score, had to count a big number," K-State head coach Kristi Knight said. "That hurt our team standing. Chloe, Niamh and Reid all played solid. We teed off in very gusty conditions. The wind calmed as the day went on, the last three holes of the round were calm. Those three ladies played well, but big numbers hurt Briony (Bayles) and Haley (Vargas).
"It will be important to keep our energy up and play with confidence – focus on what we want the rest of the way."
Bayles used back-to-back birdies to close her opening round and turned in a 13-over 85 for the Wildcats' fourth counting score. Vargas finished the first round with a 15-over 87.
"Today was a grind," McSherry said. "We started off in very windy conditions and after about three holes I just said to myself, 'No expectations today.' Some of the holes were playing 2-3 clubs different than yesterday so it was about 100 percent focus throughout.
"I think the team overall worked really hard today, but tomorrow we need to come out fighting and make birdies and pars to climb the leaderboard."
K-State will tee off at 8:30 a.m. local time with a shotgun start from tees 14-17. The Wildcats will play with Indianapolis, Iowa and UAB on Saturday, with a third and final round set for Sunday.
"To be honest, I think I deserved that birdie," McSherry said after she and the Wildcats battled gusty wind in the morning before conditions improved over the final holes. "I worked really hard today and 75 felt like 68 in those conditions."
McSherry, Chloe Weir and Reid Isaac all shot 75s in the opening round and were three shots out of the top-10. LSU's Ingrid Lindblad shot an opening round 68 (-4) to lead all individual golfers, a tally that helped the Tigers card a 293 (+5) to lead the team race. Combined, the Wildcats were seven shots out of the top-10 and 10 shots back of San Jose State and Virginia Tech (300) in a tie for fifth.
"We didn't get a fourth score, had to count a big number," K-State head coach Kristi Knight said. "That hurt our team standing. Chloe, Niamh and Reid all played solid. We teed off in very gusty conditions. The wind calmed as the day went on, the last three holes of the round were calm. Those three ladies played well, but big numbers hurt Briony (Bayles) and Haley (Vargas).
"It will be important to keep our energy up and play with confidence – focus on what we want the rest of the way."
Bayles used back-to-back birdies to close her opening round and turned in a 13-over 85 for the Wildcats' fourth counting score. Vargas finished the first round with a 15-over 87.
"Today was a grind," McSherry said. "We started off in very windy conditions and after about three holes I just said to myself, 'No expectations today.' Some of the holes were playing 2-3 clubs different than yesterday so it was about 100 percent focus throughout.
"I think the team overall worked really hard today, but tomorrow we need to come out fighting and make birdies and pars to climb the leaderboard."
K-State will tee off at 8:30 a.m. local time with a shotgun start from tees 14-17. The Wildcats will play with Indianapolis, Iowa and UAB on Saturday, with a third and final round set for Sunday.
Players Mentioned
K-State Women's Golf | Carla Bernat ANWA Recognition
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Women's Golf | Behind The Scenes Photoshoot
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Men's Golf | Wildcat Invitational
Tuesday, November 11
K-State WGOLF | Carla Bernat Augusta National Women's Amateur Recognition
Saturday, November 01
