Boyd Anchors Huskies' Efforts At Mason Rudolph Championship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Sophomore Camille Boyd is second among individuals to lead all Washington golfers after round one of the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club. Boyd shot 6-under 66 in Friday's first round in Nashville to pace the Huskies, who are 11th heading into Saturday's second round.

Boyd, from Shanghai, China, carded seven birdies and just one bogey during the first round at the 6,475-yard, par-72 course. The Huskies teed off from No. 10 and after a bogey on No. 16 moved Boyd to even par, she went on to notch a birdie on six of the final 11 holes to record the lowest round of her Husky career.

"I am super proud of Camille and her level of commitment and trust during her round today," UW coach Mary Lou Mulflur said from Nashville. "She made great decisions and finished strong, which is sometimes hard to do when you're playing well. She was clearly able to stay in the moment."

Boyd is tied for second at -6 with Kentucky's Jensen Castle and Oregon's Hsin-Yu Lu. Vanderbilt's Auston Kim leads the tournament after a 7-under 65.

Boyd's score kept the Huskies' within reach of the 15-team pack, but UW still has some catching up to do. Oregon leads the tournament at -12 (276), 19 strokes better than Washington, but the Huskies are still five strokes within reach of fifth-place Florida and Northwestern.

"As a team we really struggled to get going early," Mulflur said. "We just need to be committed from the start and not 'wait' to get it going.

"We are looking forward to two more days of action."

After Boyd, Brittany Kwon in next among Huskies at +3 (75). Kennedy Knox, Winnie Ng and Jamie Hsieh are all tied for 60th at +5 (77).

The Huskies will tee it off at 5:45 a.m. PT on Saturday for round two and are paired with Auburn (+6) and Middle Tennessee (+9).