The Vandals are right where they want to be — in the lead. The Idaho women’s golf team leads the field after the first round Monday at the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Vandals are the only team under par and have a six-stroke lead over Palouse-rival Washington State.
“It’s always special to shoot under par as a team,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said.
The invitational continues Tuesday and concludes Wednesday with the teams playing a round each day.
“It’s always a great challenge to be at the top of the leaderboard,” Johnson said.
Idaho senior Kaitlyn Oster sits in second place individually after shooting a 5-under-par 67 while junior Kristin Strankman also cracked the top five. Strankman is tied for fourth after carding a 2-under-par 70.
Oster’s 67 score is the best of her collegiate career, beating her previous record of 70. Strankman’s 2-under-par 70 score is her first under-par score in college.
Senior Leilanie Kim is tied for 10th after shooting even-par 72.
“We look for her (Kim) to play well in the next couple rounds,” Johnson said.
Sophomore Amy Hasenoehrl shot 3-over-par 75 to tie for 40th so far and freshman Kendall Gray shot 5-over-par 77 to tie for 51st.
“The team loves this golf course,” Johnson said. “You just step on the course and you know you can play well,”
Johnson said Idaho has done well historically at University Golf Course.
Washington State shot 2-over-par 290 and New Mexico State, BYU and Grand Canyon shot 3-over-par 291 to tie for third after day one. Fourteen teams are competing.
Grand Canyon’s Charlotte Jaengkit leads individually with a 6-under-par 66 and BYU’s Lea Garner sits alone in third after firing a first-round, 3-under-par 69.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]