NCAA women's golf regionals: USC leads in St. George after first round

USC leads the St. George regional with Cal right behind them in second after the first round of competition in the NCAA women’s golf regionals. The field is loaded with nine Pac-12 teams competing on three different courses. See how all teams from the Conference of Champions fared in the first day of competition.

St. George Regional (Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club – St. George, Utah)

The 2013 national champion and 2014 runner-up Trojans looked like they more than deserved their top seed in the first day of regional action. The Trojans finished the first round atop the standings after shooting a 9-over that put them four strokes ahead of second place Cal. The Trojans were led by Karen Chung who caught fire early in the back nine and birdied three times on her way to an even 72 (tied for second).

The sixth-seeded Bears came into St. George as lowest-seeded Pac-12 team in town, but they didn’t play like it. The Bears finished 13-over and finished second behind an epic performance from Pauline Loulier. Loulier shot 3-under in her first regional appearance, finished the day atop the individual standings and was the only player to finish under par.

Carding a 3-under 68 in your first career #NCAAWGolf Regional? No problem for Pauline! Still 1st ... Other still on pic.twitter.com/GFNWGlerht

— Cal Women's Golf (@CalWomensGolf) May 7, 2015

The fourth-seeded Cardinal wasn't at its absolute best on the opening day of regional play, but did enough to keep themselves in the top six. No Stanford golfer finished the round on or under par, but an overall score of 20-over was good enough for fifth place at the end of the day.

Alivia Brown was the lone Cougar in St. George and she made her presence felt in a big way with an even-par 71 that put her in a tie for second with USC's Chung at the end of the first day of competition.

The fifth-seeded Buffs finished at the back of the Pac-12 herd after a rough first day. The Buffs shot 32-over and finished in a tie for fourteenth as Colorado golfers birdied just three times in the entire round.

South Bend Regional (Warren Golf Course – South Bend, Indiana)

The Wildcats earned the top seed in South after winning the Pac-12 championship, but have a little work to do in the coming days if they hope to take home the South Bend regional title. The Wildcats sit in third place after finishing the first day with a 6-over that puts them six strokes behind first-place Duke. Lindsey Weaver led the way as the only Wildcat to finish under-par in round one with a 1-over that was good enough to tie for fifth place.

San Antonio Regional (Briggs Ranch Golf Club – San Antonio, Texas)

The top-seeded Bruins couldn’t have played much better in round one but still finished the day in second place. The Bruins shot 10-under but were outdone by red-hot Tennessee, who shot a blistering 12-under. A trio of precise shooters fueled the Bruins as Bronte Law finished with a 4-under par and was backed up by Louise Ridderstrom and Erynne Lee, who both shot 3-under.

The Bruins weren’t the only Pac-12 team on fire in San Antonio. The second-seeded Huskies finished at 7-under that was good enough to tie for fourth. It was a true team effort for the Huskies as a hat trick of 2-under scores from Cyd Okino, Ying Luo and Charlotte Thomas helped the Huskies finish well below par.

Kelsey Ulep picked the right time to play some of her best golf of the year. The freshman tied her career-best mark with a 3-under 69 and finished the round tied for sixth overall. Overall, the seventh-seeded Ducks held steady with a 3-over and finished in a tie for eighth.  

.@HoyItsKelseyyy_ finishes with a 3-under 69, tying for her lowest score of the year! She is tied for 6th overall. #GoDucks

— Oregon Women's Golf (@OregonWGolf) May 7, 2015

A fantastic spurt early in the back nine by Monica Vaughn helped the fifth seed Sun Devils stay within striking distance of the top six. Vaughn birdied three out of four holes early in the back nine en route to a 1-under 71.

The Beavers may not have been in San Antonio as a team, but Anica Yoo did her best to represent the Beavs in The Lone Star State. Yoo followed up her strong performance in the Pac-12 Championships with a 2-under (tied for fourteenth).