By Jill Tuttle
The BYU women”s golf team came in to a 15th-place finish at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown Wednesday.
The Cougars were in 15th place for all three rounds. The Cougars finished the final round at 20-over-par, behind Missouri. In the first round, the Cougars were close behind UC-Davis, and stayed in 15th after round two behind Colorado State.
Although the team stayed fairly consistent in the rankings, individual scores ranged widely.
Junior Camille Gardner shot an impressive third round, finishing at a 2-under-par 70 to lead the Cougars. Gardner finished at a 4-over 220, taking control of the course in her final round. Gardner had a solid seven birdies in the final round alone, combined with a bogey and two double-bogeys. Gardner finished tied for 51st in the individual rankings.
Teammate Shayla Forsey tied with Gardner at No. 51, also with a 4-over 220 final score. Forsey was one stroke behind Gardner in round three, also her best of the day at 1-under-par 71. Forsey had six birdies at the tournament, with two in each round.
Freshman Maggie Yuan led the pack after the first two rounds but slipped to third-best for the Cougars and tied at 57th overall. In round one, Yuan was at 17th with five birdies on the day. She still led the team at 2-over during round two, but shot four bogeys in round three that left her at 5-over par 221 for the tournament.
Sophomore Jade Bollinger finished 11-over for the tournament and Senior Natalia Jimenez finished 15-over on the tournament. Jimenez held on for a T-36 performance after round one with an impressive eagle on the tenth hole. Jimenez stood at 71st after round two spot and finished the tournament at a tie for an uncomfortable No. 83.
No. 19 Pepperdine won the tournament at 41-under par. No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 16 Louisville finished in second and third, respectively.
The Cougars will have a break until February and the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.
