Buffs Finish Sixth At Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invite

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of Colorado women's golf team moved up one spot to finish sixth during the final round of Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational Tuesday.
 
The Buffaloes came on strong like they did in the first round on Monday and carded a 1-over 289, a 10-stroke improvement from their second round on Monday (299), which helped to push them up the team leaderboard.
 
"The team made a nice comeback today," head coach Anne Kelly said. "Ellie (Gower) especially was much improved. Malak (Bouraeda) had a nice finish even without her 'A' game. Freshman Natalie Vo was impressive in her very first event. Overall we learned a lot about our team and what we need to work on before our next event. They are a talented group- we just have to improve in a few areas.
 
The 289 was the fourth-best third round total on Tuesday at the 6,317-yard, par 72 UNM Championship Course. BYU shot an 8-under (280) and Texas State was 4-under (284). Pepperdine was the only other team to record a better third round score than CU at 1-under (288). Colorado finished the tournament with an 875 (287-299-289).
 
BYU moved up three positions during the round to win the event with a 6-under 858. The Cougars fired an 280 in the last round to pass San Jose State, New Mexico and San Diego State for the title. SJSU finished second (864), UNM was third (867), SDSU placed fourth (872) and Pepperdine moved up from eighth to capture fifth (874).
 
Bouraeda continued her steady and consistent play. After carding back-to-back rounds of 72 on Monday, she finished strong with a 2-under 70 to give her a 214 for the tournament, which tied her for sixth overall. She did not have the best start to her day and was already 2-over after three holes. But she took it hole by hole and chipped away at her deficit and made five birdies and had one more bogey before the end of the round to earn her 14th career sub-par round.
 
Finishing second for the Buffs in her first tournament for CU was Diane Baillieux. She had a very good start on Monday shooting a 67 to start but followed it up with a 75 in the second round. She ended the tournament with another 75 to finish at 1-over (217) and tie for 13th. Her finish of 217 tied her for the fifth-best tournament for a Buff in their CU debut.
 
Finishing third on the team was Vo. Vo shot an even round on Tuesday to go with her 73 and 78 from Monday to finish with a 7-over 223 to tie for 38th. For every bogey (four) she hit in her third round, she had a birdie (four) to offset it.
 
Gower also shot an even round to finish her tournament tied for 53rd. She carded a 226 (75-79-72) while teammate Hailey Schalk recorded a 227 (77-74-76) to tie for 59th. Issy Simpson, who was playing as an individual, finished tied for 83rd (80-78-77—235).
 
BYU's Lila Galeai and Pepperdine's Kaleiya Romero tied for first but Romero won the playoff to win medalist honors. Both finished the tournament 10-under (206). Galeai recorded rounds of 66-70-70 while Romero recorded rounds of 70-67-69.
 
NOTES: Diane Baillieux's debut tournament score of 217 is tied for fifth in CU's record book for the best debut by a Buff. The best debut was by Emily Childs on Sept. 8-9, 2008, at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. Prior to Baillieux's 217, all of the top five lowest scores had been at the Ptarmigan course in Fort Collins. Baillieux broke the record for the best debut round by Buff on Monday, firing a 67 … This is the sixth time Malak Bouraeda has shot a 220 or better for the Buffs and it is the second straight year she has led CU in the first tournament of the season. Bouraeda led CU at the Lamkin Invitational, carding a 220 (75-66-79) … This is Bouraeda's fourth top-10 finish of her career. She has had one in each season played for the Buffs … The last time CU opened the season at this tournament, the Buffs also tied for sixth in a field of 16. CU's highest individual also tied for sixth – that individual was Robyn Choi and she also carded a 214 (like Bouraeda).