Gusty winds and plenty of rain showers put a damper on the Pepperdine women’s three-day golf tournament at the Palos Verdes Golf Club ending Wednesday which added to an already soggy performance on the course.
The No.-10 Lady Waves placed 10th in a field of 16 teams at the prestigious Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge the competition they won in 2007.
Despite a disappointing team finish there was a silver lining in the first tournament of the spring season.
Sophomore Taylore Karle fought off the elements shooting a final round 76 en route to a three-round total of 227 and an 8th place overall finish the best individual performance on the team. Her game proved steady as she racked up 36 pars over the course of the tournament the fourth most by any player.
“The conditions on the first day were horrible said freshman Kiara Hayashida. It was windy cold and rainy possibly the worst combination. It was really tough to play in those conditions.”
At the conclusion of day one freshman Kaitlin Drolson was tied for third place overall with a first-round 74. She had three birdies on the day but couldn’t maintain her level of play in the ensuing two rounds. Drolson shot an 82 and 79 respectively to finish in 28th place.
The Waves collectively tallied a team score of 950 and improved with each round (319-316-315).
Freshman Jessica Wallace placed 44th with a total score of 240 while Hayashida tied for 60th at 244.
The Arizona State Sun Devils conquered the weather the best demonstrating why it is one of the top teams in collegiate golf winning the tournament handily by 18 strokes over 2nd-place Wake Forest.
Sonora Mexico will be the next stop for the Waves as they look to rebound from this week’s performance in the Wildcat Invitational from Feb. 22 thru 24.