After the opening round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship, Michigan State women’s golf finished in the middle of the pack.
In its third straight appearance at the championship, held this year at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., Michigan State opened the tournament Friday shooting 294 as a team, six over par, and 12 strokes back from first-place Vanderbilt.
Katie Lu, a senior making her third appearance at the championship, finished even and made par on both the front and back nines. Ana Sofia Murcia, a sophomore, hit one over par but was the only Spartan to finish under par on the back nine, where many golfers struggled in the opening day of the tournament.
Taylor Kehoe finished two over par, but was one of only a dozen golfers to birdie on hole eight — a 102-yard par 3 nicknamed Little Terror — where three of her teammates bogied and where 13 golfers double bogied.
Both Brooke Biermann and Paula Balanzategui finished three over par. As a team, the Spartans had 13 birdies, 18 bogeys and two double bogeys.
Last year at the championship held on the very same course, Michigan State opened up to an even 288.
Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.