ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – Hira Naveed collected her first college victory and the Pepperdine women's golf team jumped to a second-place finish at the season-opening Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational on Tuesday.
Thanks to a closing 4-under 68, Naveed went from a tie for sixth place to a one-shot win with a 7-under 209 (71-70-68).
Only one team went under-par on Tuesday at the par-72 UNM Championship Course, and that was the Waves to the tune of 7-under. After starting the round in eighth place, they climbed all the way to second. Pepperdine was one of two teams to finish below par for the event with a 1-under 863 (295-287-281).
NAVEED
- Senior Hira Naveed (Perth, Australia) was four shots back to begin the day. She bogeyed her starting hole, #6, but that was her only miscue. She birdied nine, 11, 14 and 18 to take the lead. After three pars on 1, 2 and 3, she made what turned out to be the tournament-winning birdie on 4 before parring 5.
- She led all players with 15 birdies over the three rounds, two more than anyone else.
- Naveed's previous best was a pair of second-place finishes at the 2016 Ron Moore Intercollegiate and the 2018 West Coast Conference Championships. The 7-under was a career best for her at Pepperdine. It was the first time she had played all three rounds of a tournament below-par.
- Pepperdine's last medalist was Marissa Chow at the 2015 WCC Championships.
MORE PLAYER SCORES
- Junior Momoka Kobori (Rangiora, New Zealand) tied for 10th place with a 1-under 215 (69-72-74). Her final round included two birdies. Kobori finished below-par for the first time in her Pepperdine career.
- Senior Hannah Haythorne (Honolulu, Hawai'i/IMG Academy) fired her second straight 3-under 69, moving her up to a tie for 13th place with an even-par 216 (78-69-69). She had four birdies on Tuesday. The even-par was the best tournament score of her Pepperdine career and the 3-under 69s tied her career best.
- Playing as an individual, senior Patricia Wong (Walnut, Calif./Walnut HS) tied for 23rd at 219 (73-75-71). Her 1-under 71 to close the tournament included five birdies.
- Freshman Kathrine Chan (Richmond, B.C./Canada) tied for 41st at 223 (77-76-70). Making her college debut, she posted her first below-par round today, getting three birdies en route to a 2-under 70.
- Freshman Sifan He (Shanghai, China) tied for 83rd at 237 (80-81-76). She had three birdies on Tuesday.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Laurie Gibbs said: "Coach Katie and I are very proud of how the team stayed focused after playing 36 holes yesterday. Moving up the leaderboard in the final round against a strong field is a great start to our season. Hira has a plan to graduate in 3 1/2 years and to be prepared to become a successful professional on the LPGA Tour. This win today is the result of her sticking to her plan and improving each year. We are very proud of her hard work and dedication."
Hira Naveed said: "It's been a long time coming, but I'm really happy to finally get the win. I felt like my whole game held together really well, and I felt really good mentally throughout the event. The team played really solid as well, and we are all very happy with how we finished the tournament strong. We all have a lot to look forward to and we feel like this is just the beginning for our young group. We are very excited for the year ahead."
UP NEXT
Pepperdine's second tournament of the fall is the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colorado, from September 24-26.
THE NUMBERS
Team Standings: 1. Kent State 289-280-289=858;
2. Pepperdine 295-287-281=863; 3. San Diego State 288-287-291=866; 4. Northwestern 289-284-294=867; 5. New Mexico 289-284-295=868; T6. Colorado 295-285-294=874; T6. UC Davis 288-291-295=874; T8. UNLV 294-293-292=879; T8. California 295-286-298=879; T10. Iowa State 300-290-295=885; T10. Idaho 287-302-296=885; 12. Washington State 294-289-303=886; 13. Iowa 305-303-301=909; 14. New Mexico State 315-298-299=912; 15. Central Arkansas 305-298-313=916; 16. Fresno State 306-302-309=917.
Individual Leaders: 1. Hira Naveed (Pepperdine) 71-70-68=209; T2. Darian Zachek (New Mexico) 70-67-73=210; T2. Gioia Carpinelli (San Diego State) 72-70-68=210; 4. Cindy Oh (California) 72-67-73=212; 5. Sophie Hausmann (Idaho) 69-71-73=213.
