Solid Finish in Palos Verdes

PALOS VERDES -- A determined BYU women’s golf team continued to improve through the final round of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge Wednesday as they finished the tournament in 16th place at 126-over-par.

The Cougars shot 14 strokes lower than their second-round performance and gradually improved over the course of the tournament, which took place at the prestigious Palos Verdes Golf Club. The team competed against some of the nation’s top golf programs such as UCLA, USC and Arizona State.

Natalia Jimenez led the way for the Cougars, tying for the No. 16 spot at 19-over-par. She shot four-over-par in the final round after playing a nearly flawless round with just four bogeys on the day. She improved by two strokes from the second round and jumped six spots for her final individual position.

Sophomore Jade Bollinger also jumped six spots after she improved her score by six strokes in the third round. She played a six-over-par round by scoring a birdie and allowed just five bogeys on the difficult course.

Junior Shayla Forsey played an impressive round by lowering her second-round tally by 11 strokes. She shot a seven-over-par performance and had just five bogeys in the final round of play.

Maggie Yuan and Camille Gardner competed well for the Cougars throughout the tournament. Both scored one birdie in the final round to assist the team to its strong finish.

Juliana Murcia of Arizona State played in first place the entire tournament and was able to finish in the same spot, securing the victory for the Sun Devils. Wake Forest and UCLA rounded off the top three finishers.

For additional results, visit golfstat.com.

2009 Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge
BYU
T16  N. Jimenez   80-77-75--232  +19
T60  J. Bollinger 84-83-77--244  +31
T71  M. Yuan      85-80-84--249  +36
T77  S. Forsey    87-89-78--254  +41
 81  C. Gardner   88-88-86--262  +49
The field
1  (3)  Arizona State   +46
2  (11) Wake Forest     +64
3  (1)  UCLA            +65
4  (2)  USC             +67
5  (19) Denver          +77
6  (20) Michigan State  +85
7  (16) Cal             +92
T8 (29) Florida         +96
T8      Baylor          +96
10 (13) Pepperdine      +98
11 (27) Ohio State      +99
12 (25) Notre Dame      +104
13 (21) Stanford        +108
14 (47) East Carolina   +113
15 (32) Texas A&M       +120
16      BYU             +126