Wildcats Rally in Second Round as Darkness Halts Play
Feb 01, 2021 | Women's Golf
DALLAS, Texas – The only thing that stopped the Kansas State women's golf team from continuing its climb up the leaderboard was the winter darkness that cloaked the Trinity Forest Golf Club during the Trinity Forest Invitational on Monday.
The Wildcats got down early in the first round as they finished the first 18 holes in 10th place, but they slowly climbed their way back to fifth place during the second round before darkness suspended play.
"The first 11 holes were rough," head coach Kristi Knight said at the end of the first day. "We didn't get off to a good start, but we seemed to play much better on the back nine in the first round. Then we got things going and the ladies did a great job and played well. They played a lot of good golf."
The second round was highlighted by a hole-in-one from Briony Bayles, a junior from Durham, England, as she enters play on Tuesday tied for eighth place at 4-over par. Bayles' ace came the second time through on hole No. 8.
"At times, we really struggled on some of the greens," Knight said. "I think we had three chip-ins and Briony had a hole-in-one. This is a fast golf course, and you have to know how to use the ground to get to the hole."
In addition to her hole-in-one, Bayles carded four birdies and she is three strokes away from the top five. Senior Niamh McSherry is four strokes behind Bayles and tied for 23rd at 8-over par.
"Briony chipped and putted today really well," Knight said. "When she hit it out of play off the tee, she recovered nicely. Niamh holed some nice putts. There were bright spots today. Today is done and those 33 holes are done, so we are excited to go out tomorrow and get after it."
Sophomore Haley Vargas and senior Reid Isaac produced better scores in the second round. Vargas was tied for 32nd and Isaac was tied for 40th when darkness caused a stoppage of play. Freshman Napua Glossner, who is making her collegiate debut, shot a 7-over par 79 in the first round and is currently tied for 66th heading into the final day.
"We want them to focus on the things they did well," Knight said. "We saw a lot of good things. Yeah, there were still some mistakes in there, but they battled all day. They're hanging in there, and I believe in them."
Oklahoma State's Maja Stark, the No. 32 player in Golfstat's rankings, shot 6-under par 66 in the first round and held a three-shot lead when play was suspended.
The Wildcats, who are 32-over par through the first 33 holes, are just four shots shy of Tulsa for fourth heading into play on Tuesday. Baylor holds a 13-shot lead at 4-under par as the Bears pace Big 12 foes Oklahoma State (+9) and Texas (+19) in second and third, respectively.
"We certainly have an opportunity to go out tomorrow and move a couple places up the leaderboard," Knight said.
Play at Trinity Forest Invitational will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday when teams will finish the second round before continuing to the final round of the tournament. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
The Wildcats got down early in the first round as they finished the first 18 holes in 10th place, but they slowly climbed their way back to fifth place during the second round before darkness suspended play.
"The first 11 holes were rough," head coach Kristi Knight said at the end of the first day. "We didn't get off to a good start, but we seemed to play much better on the back nine in the first round. Then we got things going and the ladies did a great job and played well. They played a lot of good golf."
The second round was highlighted by a hole-in-one from Briony Bayles, a junior from Durham, England, as she enters play on Tuesday tied for eighth place at 4-over par. Bayles' ace came the second time through on hole No. 8.
"At times, we really struggled on some of the greens," Knight said. "I think we had three chip-ins and Briony had a hole-in-one. This is a fast golf course, and you have to know how to use the ground to get to the hole."
In addition to her hole-in-one, Bayles carded four birdies and she is three strokes away from the top five. Senior Niamh McSherry is four strokes behind Bayles and tied for 23rd at 8-over par.
"Briony chipped and putted today really well," Knight said. "When she hit it out of play off the tee, she recovered nicely. Niamh holed some nice putts. There were bright spots today. Today is done and those 33 holes are done, so we are excited to go out tomorrow and get after it."
Sophomore Haley Vargas and senior Reid Isaac produced better scores in the second round. Vargas was tied for 32nd and Isaac was tied for 40th when darkness caused a stoppage of play. Freshman Napua Glossner, who is making her collegiate debut, shot a 7-over par 79 in the first round and is currently tied for 66th heading into the final day.
"We want them to focus on the things they did well," Knight said. "We saw a lot of good things. Yeah, there were still some mistakes in there, but they battled all day. They're hanging in there, and I believe in them."
Oklahoma State's Maja Stark, the No. 32 player in Golfstat's rankings, shot 6-under par 66 in the first round and held a three-shot lead when play was suspended.
The Wildcats, who are 32-over par through the first 33 holes, are just four shots shy of Tulsa for fourth heading into play on Tuesday. Baylor holds a 13-shot lead at 4-under par as the Bears pace Big 12 foes Oklahoma State (+9) and Texas (+19) in second and third, respectively.
"We certainly have an opportunity to go out tomorrow and move a couple places up the leaderboard," Knight said.
Play at Trinity Forest Invitational will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday when teams will finish the second round before continuing to the final round of the tournament. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
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