Cougars Lead Field of Contenders
PROVO -- Competing among 20 teams in its third tournament, the BYU women's golf team will compete Oct. 20-21 at the Lady Aztec Invitational.
The Cougars' two finishes so far have been fifth and 10th place in the two previous tournaments.
"We have been preparing every golfer on an individual basis," BYU coach Sue Nyhus said. "The team's ready to face the competition next week. We just need the confidence of playing at a top level every round."
The Lady Aztec Invitational will be played at the Auld Course in Chula Vista, Calif, which measures 6, 029 yards and has a par of 72. The tournament features four teams from the Mountain West Conference: Wyoming, Colorado State, BYU and San Diego State.
Entering this tournament, the Cougars will be one of the top teams competing. Currently BYU sits at 44th place on Golfweek.com, above host San Diego State at 45th place.
BYU started off the season strong with a fifth-place finish in their first tournament at the Dick McGuire. Junior Margaret Gibby led BYU with her steady play as she finished tied at 27th place and helped the Cougars beat No. 20 UNLV.
"The team is very focused and preparing in all aspects of their game," Nyhus said.
The five Cougar starters qualifying for the tournament are the three Newren sisters, Nicole, Natalie and Rachel; Margaret Gibby and freshman Alexis Edwards.
The two freshman golfers, Alexis Edwards and Rachel Newren, have continued to show strength in their first season with BYU. Edwards and Newren finished 20th and 29th respectively at the Dick McGuire. Edwards leads BYU with the lowest stroke average and shows promising potential for the rest of the season.
Junior Natalie Newren shot the best individual score for the Cougars with a seven-over-par at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational and finished tied for 20th. She led BYU to fifth place after the first round with her younger sister, Rachel.
The Lady Aztec Invitational will start at 8 a.m., Monday with a shotgun start, and the teams will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday.
The complete field includes 20 teams: San Diego State, UC Riverside, Colorado, Colorado State, Northern Arizona, Cal State-Northridge, Nevada, Cal State-Sacramento, Brigham Young, Wyoming, Santa Clara, Cal State-San Marcos, McNeese State, Redlands, Western New Mexico, Chico State, Western Washington, Grand Canyon, Monterey Bay and Cal Poly.
