April 24, 2014
Rancho Mirage, Calif.--My Leander is one of five players atop the leaderboard to shoot a 71 in the first round of the 2014 Mountain West Conference Women's Golf Championship Thursday. San Jose State finished the first round with a 294 to finish second, one shot out of first place, on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at the Mission Hills Country Club.
Leander's first nine holes saw her shoot a two-under 34. She made birdies on the par-5, 482-yard second hole and on the par-4, 363-yard seventh hole and seven pars. After a bogey on the par-4, 375 10thhole, Leander closed out her round with eight consecutive pars to finish at one-under, 71.
Regan De Guzman is the other Spartan in the top-10 as she is tied for eighth at one-over 73. She started her round two-under after two holes, making two birdies before bogeys on #3 and #4 brought her back to even. After a par on #5, De Guzman eagled the par-four, 346-yard #6 to go back to two-under par. She bogeyed her next hole and finished the first nine holes at one-under par. De Guzman made back-to-back bogeys on #10 and 11 before ending her round with seven consecutive pars for her 73.
"I was impressed with My and Regan on the course today," said Spartan head coach John Dormann. "My hit the ball really well, got some good breaks and took advantage of them. She hit her tee shots where you need to hit them. Regan had a hot start to her round and held on over the last nine holes."
Megan Osland shot a solid 74 for her first round and is tied for 12th. She started her round with a bogey then rebounded with a birdie on the first two holes. After a par on #3 and a bogey on #4, Osland made 13 consecutive pars before a bogey on #18 left her at 74.
Rachelle Reali is tied for 19th at 76 as she finished her round with a birdie on #18 and had 12 pars on her round. Kathleen Rojas is tied for 30th at 78, and she made a birdie on the par-4 #15.
"We played pretty good today. There was no wind, so the conditions were perfect, and all teams took advantage of it."
San Diego State leads the championship at 293, one shot in front of the Spartans. Five teams are within four shots of each other. New Mexico is third at 295, followed by Boise State and Fresno State at 296.
"This tournament is going to be a four to five team battle and could come down to #18, a very telling hole, a par-5 hole that plays at 521 yards," said Dormann. The Spartans played the hole at even for the first round with a birdie by Reali, three pars and a bogey by Osland.
"We played the hole pretty well today. This hole starts with water on the left and demands three good shots to the green, but you also have to deal with water in front of the green and bunkers on the right side."
Round two of the 2014 Mountain West Championship begins Friday morning at 7 a.m. The Spartans will play with the Aztecs and New Mexico beginning at 8:30 a.m., at nine-minute intervals. Leander will tee-off in the final group at 9:06 a.m.
2014 Mountain West Championship
Dinah Shore Tournament Course
Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Par 72, 6,324 yards
Team Standings after one round
1. San Diego State 293
2. San José State 294
3. New Mexico 295
4. Boise State 296
4. Fresno State 296
6. UNLV 303
7. Nevada 308
8. Wyoming 310
9. Colorado State 311
Individual Standings
1. Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir, Fresno State 71
1. Emma Henrikson, San Diego State 71
1. My Leander, San José State 71
1. Madchen Ly, Fresno State 71
1. Manon Molle, New Mexcio 71
San José State Results
1. My Leander 71
8. Regan De Guzman 73
12. Megan Olsand 74
19. Rachelle Realli 76
30. Kathleen Rojas 78
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