After a rough first round the Idaho women’s golf team turned things around, putting together two solid rounds to finish in fifth at the WAC Championships on Wednesday in Mesa, Ariz.
Idaho junior Rachel Choi blazed through the third and final round of the tournament with a two-under 70 to climb from 11th to fourth.
Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said Choi’s final round was impressive.
“Rachel had an amazing round. She has shown tremendous growth as a player,” Johnson said.
Denver won the tournament, taking home its first WAC crown. Denver shot an 18-over 882 as a team, which was 12 strokes better than defending champion San Jose State, who finished at 30-over with an 894. Denver shot a tournament-low 291 in the second round and was in first place throughout the tournament. Texas State finished in third at a 30-over 904.
Denver was led by Tonje Daffinrud, who finished at seven under to claim the individual crown. San Jose State took second and third with Regan De Guzman finishing six strokes back of Daffinrud to finish second and Jennifer Brumbaugh finishing at three-over to take third.
The Vandals shot a rough 312 in the first round to tie with New Mexico State at the bottom of the standings. Idaho played better the rest of the way out, shooting a 296 in the second to move up to fourth. Johnson said she was happy with the way her team responded after the first round.
“We putted significantly better,” coach Lisa Johnson said, adding that birdies and steady play early on set the tone for the day. “We made some long birdie putts early in the round. That helped their confidence. We had a better sense of the speed of the greens.”
Idaho came out in the third and shot a 300 to finish the WAC Championship in fifth, just one stroke behind Texas-San Antonio. Seattle U came in fifth and New Mexico State came in seventh.
Johnson said she was happy with the way her team faced adversity.
“Overall, I was impressed with how the team rebounded from a horrible first round,” Johnson said. “It showed great toughness. It would have been nice to shoot lower but we’re happy with our effort.”
Choi led Idaho, finishing in fourth. Sophomore Leilanie Kim finished with a 10-over 211 to take 11th. Sophomore Kaitlyn Oster finished at 13-over to tie for sixteenth, freshman Kristin Strankman finished in 23rd and freshman Cassie McKinley rounded out things for Idaho, finishing in 33rd.
It was a decent end for the young Idaho squad that will be bringing back all but one player from this year’s roster.
Kevin Bingaman can be reached at [email protected]