Idaho senior golfer Leilanie Kim separated herself from most of the field Monday at the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, Colorado. She shot rounds of 72 and 71 to finish 1-under par for the first day, which puts her in fifth place heading into day two. Kim is four strokes off the lead.
As a team, Idaho sits in 12th place out of the 17 qualifying schools. St. Andrews was disqualified. The Vandals shot a 28-over-par 604 through two rounds.
Idaho is within striking distance of the schools ahead of it. Seventh-place Nevada leads the Vandals by eight strokes, so many schools in the middle of the pack have a chance to shift around before the invitational concludes Tuesday. Idaho has a five-shot lead over in-state rival Boise State, which is in 13th place.
As for other Vandals, Kaitlyn Oster is tied for 30th, Kristin Strankman is tied for 46th, Cassie McKinley is tied for 75th and Amy Hasenoehrl is tied for 79th.
San Diego State leads after the first day shooting a two-round, 1-over-par 577. Colorado and Illinois tied for second after two rounds shooting 10-over-par 586. UNLV trails Colorado and Illinois by three strokes for fourth place. San Diego State’s Emma Henrikson and Sirene Blair lead the field individually after 5-under-par performances. The invitational ends Tuesday. After the conclusion of the tournament, the Vandals tee it up Sept. 22 and 23 at the Washington State Cougar Cup at Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman. The Idaho men’s golf team begins its season Friday at the Jack Gimmler Invitational in Bethpage, New York.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]