EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Pepperdine women's golf team got off to a hot start at the NCAA Regionals, played at the par-72, 6,325-yard Forest Akers Golf Course, finishing the first round in second-place with a score of 283.
"After a long travel day on Thursday, the players had two good practice days and were ready to compete today," said Head Coach
Laurie Gibbs. "Very proud of Lion's great round and all the players for playing smart golf and posting five good scores."
Three Waves finished the first round in the top-20, led by an impressive season-low 5-under 67 from senior
Lion Higo for second-place. Her score tied the Pepperdine women's golf program record for lowest 18-hole score at an NCAA regional, which had been achieved four times in program history thus far and last in 2018 – Danielle Kang (2010, 1
st round), Jessica Wallace (2010, 1
st round), Somin Lee (2012, 3
rd round) and Hira Naveed (2018, 1
st round). The lowest 18-hole score in an NCAA regional in more recent years was tabbed by both Higo and teammate senior
Kaleiya Romero who tabbed 4-unders in 2023 and 2021 respectively.
Higo is two strokes behind the Trojans' Bailey Shoemaker who shot 7-under with no errors throughout the day. Higo leads Notre Dame's individual Lauren Beaudreau by one stroke and the eight players tied for fourth by three strokes.
The Waves are only two shots behind top-seeded #6 USC in the lead, while sitting one shot ahead of #8 Northwestern, four shots ahead of #18 Florida and seven shot ahead of #41 Denver to round out the top-five after 18-holes.
Pepperdine will be paired with the Trojans and Wildcats for the second round, teeing off hole one at 5:15 a.m. PT. There is the possibility of inclement weather in the area. Follow @WavesGolf on Twitter for the most immediate updates.
PLAYER SCORES
- Senior Lion Higo (Gold Coast, Australia) shot a 5-under 67 for second-place. She finished second in the field with six birdies and ranked in the top-two in both par three and par five scoring today. Starting on the back nine, she shot 2-under in the first four holes before picking up her first and only bogey of the day on hole 16. She then made the turn with a vengeance, shooting 4-under on the first five hole before finishing strong with pars.
- Sophomore Jeneath Wong (Melbourne, Australia) is tied for 12th after a 71 in the opening round. She stayed even par through the back nine without a single error, picking up two birdies in the first five holes after the turn to go 2-under with a few holes left. Though she bogeyed on six, she continued on with par in her final three holes.
- Junior Lauren Gomez (Murrieta, Calif.) is tied for 19th with an even 72 today. She went up one after the second hole, but an eagle on hole 13 brought her back under par. She finished through the turn without another error, but bogeyed two and three to go over once more. She was intent on ending the round on a high note and a birdie on hole five brought her back to even before finishing the rest of the round at par.
- Senior Kaleiya Romero (San Jose, Calif.) shot a 1-over 73 to tie for 30th. Though she had one early bogey, she rallied on the back nine to finish without an error in her final seven holes before making the turn. She then birdied on the first hole before another bogey brought her back over. A pair of back-to-back birdies on holes five and six flipped the script once again, but she ended 1-over after her final three holes.
- Sophomore Yingzhi Zhu (Nanjing, China) is tied for 38th with a score of 75. She had 13 holes at par throughout the round, though costly bogeys put her over by the end of the day. She tallied a birdie on the ninth hole to end the round.
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. USC 281;
2. Pepperdine 283; 3. Northwestern 284; 4. Florida 287; 5. Denver 290; T6. Michigan State 291; T6. Oklahoma State 291; 8. Kentucky 292; 9. Indiana 295; 10. Augusta 298; 11. Oakland 302: 12. Illinois State 313.
Individual Scores: 1. Bailey Shoemaker (USC) 65;
2. Lion Higo (Pepperdine) 67; 3. Lauren Beaudreau (Notre Dame) 68; T4. Anna Zanusso (Denver) 70; T4. Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (OKSU) 70; T4. Lauryn Nguyen (Northwestern) 70; T4. Jennifer Cai (Northwestern) 70; T4. Marta Lopez Echevarria (Kentucky) 70; T4. Catherine Park (USC) 70; T4. Kate Petrova (Evansville) 70; T4. Hana Ryskova (Louisville) 70.
