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Aztec senior Sirene Blair ties for 15th individually
Source: goaztecs.com
Photo: Sirene Blair was the Aztecs' No. 1 finisher at the Bruin Wave Invite. Courtesy goaztecs.com
February 28, 2017 (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) - The San Diego State women's golf team finished in ninth place at the Bruin Wave Invitational Tuesday after shooting a collective 23-over par 315 during the final round at San Luis Obispo Country Club. With their score, the Aztecs completed their second tournament of the spring with a 54-hole total of 61-over 937 on the par-73, 6,357-yard course layout.
Individually, SDSU was led by Sirene Blair (South Jordan, Utah), who tied for 15th at 12-over 231 after carding a final-round 78. Starting at hole No. 5, the Aztec junior opened with two bogeys before righting the ship with three consecutive pars sandwiched between birdies at the par-5 seventh and the par-5 11th. Blair came through with seven pars additional pars, but her progress was stymied by two bogeys and a double on the back nine.
Georgia Lacey (Del Mar, Calif.) finished three shots in back of Blair at 15-over 234 on the heels of a 77. The Torrey Pines High alumna tied for the team lead with three birdies, including an impressive drain on the par-3, 161-yard No. 4, which ranked as the fourth-toughest hole of the tournament. Despite a rash of five bogeys and a double, Lacey still managed to climb seven spots from the second round into a tie for 26th on the leaderboard.
Fernanda Escauriza (Asuncion, Paraguay) also displayed upward mobility Tuesday, climbing five places into a tie for 37th at 19-over 238 after carding a 79 over the final 18 holes. The SDSU freshman sank three birdies as well, including back-to-back conversions on the 11th and 12th greens. The par-4, 366-yard No. 12 ranked as the fifth-most difficult hole of the third round. However, six bogeys and a triple on the par-4 ninth prevented a steeper ascent.
Elsewhere, senior Natalie Vivaldi (Oceanside, Calif.) ended the tournament one stroke behind Escauriza in a six-way tie for 42nd at 20-over 239 after logging an 81. The Rancho Buena Vista High product was plagued by seven bogeys along with a double on the par-4 13th, but finished strong with two birdies and a par over her last four holes.
The Aztec were also represented by junior Haleigh Krause (Eugene, Ore.), who also shot a final-round 81 to tie for the 53rd position at 23-over 242.
Stanford (+26) captured the team title after edging runner-up UCLA (+27) by one stroke, while USC (+37) was a distant third, followed by Colorado (+50) and California (+51).
The race for medalist honors was also tightly contested, with UCLA’s Lilia Vu (E) prevailing by one shot over Cal State Fullerton’s Martina Edberg (+1), while Stanford’s Casey Danielson and Albane Valenzuela and UCLA’s Mariel Galdiano tied for third at 4-over.
The second round of the Bruin Wave Invitational, which was suspended Monday due to darkness, was completed on Tuesday morning prior to the third and final round. Despite its lofty score, SDSU averaged 78.93 strokes per individual round for the tournament, which was less than the average of 79.30 for the 80-golfer field. The Aztecs also led the event with 28 birdies for the week, including eight by Escauriza.
San Diego State will be back in action next week when it travels to the Bay Area for the University of San Francisco’s Meadow Club Intercollegiate, March 6-7, in Fairfax, Calif.
Bruin Wave Invitational
Final Results
San Luis Obispo C.C.
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Par 73, 6,357 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 15 teams + SDSU)
1. Stanford 293-304-305—902 (+26)
2. UCLA 304-301-298—903 (+27)
3. USC 300-307-306—913 (+37)
4. Colorado 301-312-313—926 (+50)
5. California 307-311-309—927 (+51)
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9. San Diego State 307-315-315—937 (+61)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 80 players + SDSU)
1. Lilia Vu, UCLA 70-74-75—219 (E)
2. Martina Edberg, Cal State Fullerton 76-70-74—220 (+1)
T3. Casey Danielson, Stanford 72-76-75—223 (+4)
T3. Mariel Galdiano, UCLA 73-76-74—223 (+4)
T3. Albane Valenzuela, Stanford 70-77-76—223 (+4)
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T15. Sirene Blair, SDSU 77-76-78—231 (+12)
T26. Georgia Lacey, SDSU 77-80-77—234 (+15)
T37. Fernanda Escauriza, SDSU 76-83-79—238 (+19)
T42. Natalie Vivaldi, SDSU 82-76-81—239 (+20)
T54. Haleigh Krause, SDSU 77-84-81—242 (+23)
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