Isaac Birdies Way Into Top-5, Wildcats Seventh at Trinity Forest

Monday, September 9

Dallas, Texas

Kansas State University

Trinity Forest Invitational

K-State's Reid Isaac chips to the green during the Big 12 Women's Golf Championship at The Golf Club of Oklahoma in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Isaac Birdies Way Into Top-5, Wildcats Seventh at Trinity Forest

Sep 10, 2019 | Women's Golf

Trinity Forest Invite Results Live Results / Leaderboard

DALLAS, Texas – K-State junior Reid Isaac used three birdies over the final four holes - part of a tournament-best 15 birdies fired over three rounds - to get back even and maintain her position among the top-5 individuals at the end of the Trinity Forest Invitational Tuesday. K-State nearly caught Memphis for sixth place in the team standings, but finished two shots shy of the middle of the field in seventh (33-over 897).

Isaac couldn't repeat the magic from her freshman year run to individual medalist honors on the par-72, 6,154-yard Trinity Forest Golf Club, but claimed her fourth career top-5 finish after shooting herself out of a sluggish start and posting her third round of par-or-better. She was one of just six golfers under par for the tournament at 2-under 214 and tied North Texas' Lauren Cox for fifth. Texas Tech's Sofia Garcia shot a tournament-best and new women's course record 8-under 64 Tuesday while running away with the individual title at 10-under 206.

Isaac and the Wildcats were tormented by the back nine for the third consecutive round and immediately, this time starting at or around the turn. Despite the early struggles and despite another windy day with difficult pin placements - the average score was half a point higher in the third round - K-State managed to cut two strokes from its second round total. The Wildcats tied for fifth with birdies fired at 33 and added an eagle from Briony Bayles to open Tuesday's round.

"There's a lot of positives to take," K-State head coach Kristi Knight said. "We didn't come in with our eyes on finishing seventh, we would've liked to finish a little higher on the board, but there are so many positives to take away."

"We gave some shots up with three putts today, that's something we can clean up. Our message to the team at the end of the day was there's nothing to be discouraged about. In fact, this is a really hard golf course and we made a lot of birdies. There's a lot to take from that. That's the main thing, to really be proud of that and recognize the way we made those birdies. Also we just need to clean up our lag putting and I think we'll be fine."

Isaac was tied for fourth entering the final day of competition but after three straight pars to start her round, bogeyed No. 12 and doubled No.14 to sit 3-over for the day. She bounced back with a birdie on No. 15, the first of five birdies over the final 12 holes to work back to level.

"I knew going into today we were starting on the back nine so my goal was just to get off of that side par or better and then I could go low on the front nine and finish out well," Isaac said. "Unfortunately that wasn't the way the back nine went for me. That was really tough, but I knew I could come back and at least get around par. I had to fight for every single shot today, I had quite a few three putts, but I definitely had a lot of birdies to make up for those. It was a constant battle between birdies and bogeys for me today."

Behind her tournament-best bird tally, Niamh McSherry and Bayles each carded seven apiece. Bayles, who lost a qualifying playoff for the final scoring lineup position last week before an illness kept redshirt senior Chloe Weir at home, started and finished with counting rounds for K-State and was 34th overall with an 11-over 227.

"I was really lucky to be able to get the chance to play this week," Bayles, a sophomore from Durham, England, said. "I really love the course, Trinity Forest is very similar to some of the courses we play at home. With a lot of shots around the green I was almost at home. That was nice to get that under my belt, considering this time last week I wasn't supposed to be going. It's a shame that we lost Chloe, but she'll be back and I have full faith in the whole team that all seven of us are competitive enough to switch in and out."

McSherry finished one shot behind Bayles, tied for 35th at 12-over 228, and was followed by Heather Fortushniak (T44th / 231) and Haley Vargas (T47 / 232). Vargas, a freshman from Lubbock, Texas, contributed two of her three debut rounds to the team score.

Oklahoma State shot 2-over 866 for the tournament to claim team honors, while fending off a charge from Garcia and Texas Tech (872). Baylor, the other Big 12 foe in the field, finished third at 14-over 878.

K-State turns its focus to hosting the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational at it's home course Colbert Hills Golf Course, starting Sunday, Sept. 15. Admission for the event is free and open to the public with competition including 36 holes of golf on Sunday and a third round finale on Monday morning. The field consists of 11 teams, including alternating annual host and in-state rival Kansas.

"I'm super optimistic about where this team is going," Isaac said. "I think all of us see our true potential after this week. A few less mistakes here and there, pick up a few shots and we're right there."