Colorado Tied For Fifth At Pac-12 Preview

KAILUA KONA, Hawai'i – After almost two weeks away from competition, the University of Colorado women's golf team came back to the course and shot a 1-over 293 during the first round of the Pac-12 Preview to start the tournament tied for fifth.
 
"The team played pretty solid today," head coach Anne Kelly said. "This is a tough course and the wind kicked up for the last half of the day."
 
The Buffaloes are tied with Oregon State but the team standings are very close as only five strokes separate the top six teams. Stanford leads the field after carding a 4-under (288) but Southern California is just two strokes back (290). Washington is third at 1-under (291) and Oregon is fourth after an even round of play.   
 
Diane Baillieux led the Buffs, firing a 3-under 70 on the 6,449-yard, par 73 Nanea Golf Club, and is tied for third. She made par on No. 7 to start her round and followed it up with a birdie on No. 8 before making par on No. 9. The back nine started with a bogey, but she quickly recovered and was 2-under by the 13th hole. She ended up even on the back nine despite a double-bogey on No. 15.
 
She finished the front nine making par three more times while sinking three additional birdies, bringing her total to six birdies for the round to tie for the round-lead with four others.
 
After shooting even, Ellie Gower is tied for 11th. Gower had a decent round as well, especially on the back nine where she scored a 3-under (33) with three birdies. In total, she had four birdies in her round, while making par 11 times.
 
Malak Bouraeda and Hailey Schalk are tied for 27th as both recorded a 75. Bouraeda did well on the back nine, carding an even 36 with two birdies. She shot a 2-over on the front nine with another two birdies. Schalk started her day on the 10th hole with a triple-bogey. But after that, she had a great round. She made par 14 times and had a pair of birdies; her only other hiccup was a bogey on No. 7, but her recovery after the triple was a great show of maturity on the difficult course.
 
Natalie Vo is tied for 80th after hitting an 80. She made par 11 times and had one birdie.   
 
"This course is challenging, especially for first-timers," Kelly said. "We have four players making their first trip to Nanea. Diane played well and her short game was quite good today. Hailey got off to a very rough start but fought her way back; she showed a lot of heart and determination. Malak is getting back on track after a bumpy fall. She didn't have the best finish to her round but overall played a good round of golf today. Ellie continues to play really solid. Natalie struggled a little but now has a good feel for the course and is ready to go for tomorrow."
 
USC's Katherine Muzi shot a 5-under to take the day one lead (68) but Oregon State's Danique Stokmans is only one stroke back (69). There is a three-way tie for third between Stanford's Aline Krauter, USC's Cindy Kou and CU's Bailliuex as all recorded a 3-under.
 
The second round of the Pac-12 Preview begins at 7:30 a.m. local time (11:30 a.m. MT) on Tuesday, November 2. Colorado is paired with Oregon State, Arizona and Arizona State.
 
 
NOTES: Diane Baillieux's 70 in the first round ties the fifth-lowest 18-hole score on a par 73 in program history … she has recorded five sub-par rounds this season; CU recorded 13 as a team … Colorado ranks third as a team in pars made (54) after Washington (56) and UCLA (55) … Hailey Schalk's 14 pars made is tied for third in the tournament