Garner leads Cougars to fifth place standing after day one

SPRINGVILLE, Utah - Sophomore Lea Garner led the BYU women's golf team to a fifth place finish on the first day of the Hobble Creek Invitational. 

"I thought we left a lot of shots out there, but I think they're going to be more motivated tomorrow," BYU women's golf head coach Carrie Roberts said. "There were a lot of positives and we did a lot of good things today."

Garner finished in first place after the first two rounds at one-over-par with the help of nine birdies. Grand Canyon's Charlotte Jaengkit was right behind her at two-over-par. 

At the end of the day, West Coast Conference foe San Francisco remained in first at 22-over-par, Gonzaga improved to second at 32-over-par, while BYU dropped to fifth (+43).

Garner led all 77 players after the first round finishing one-under-par and senior Annika Afoa Kahaialii tied for fourth at two-over-par. The Cougars were tied at third with conference foe Gonzaga, while San Francisco sat in first place at 15-over-par following the first round. 

"Lea was solid and consistent," Roberts said. "She's a great player and she worked really hard over the summer, so I'm not surprised that she's leading. She's in a great position and put us in a great position to be in." 

Kahaiali'i is tied at 11th place at nine-over-par with five birdies, while senior Selu Fotu tied for 29th at 15-over-par following the first two rounds of the tournament on Monday. 

In-state participants Southern Utah (+51), Weber State (+59), Dixie State (+63) and Utah Valley (+76) finished 7th, 8th, 9th and 11th place, respectively. UVU's Lynn-Marie Nagel is tied at fifth, seven-over-par. 

The Cougars will return to action Tuesday morning with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. MST. Live stats for the third round can be followed at golfstats.com.

Individual Scores

*Players competing individually

Team Scores