Newren Ends Tournament with Style

COLUMBUS -- BYU All-American Rachel Newren played her best round of the tournament Friday shooting a two-under-par 70 and propelling her to a tie for 16th place at the NCAA National Championship in Columbus, OH.

Newren shot the third lowest score of the day amidst rain and windy conditions. She played near flawless golf on Saturday and only ran into one snare at the par-five hole, where she double bogeyed the hole after a slight delay due to a downpour of rain.

"I wish I could have that hole back," Newren said. "It was just a matter of temporarily losing my focus."

Newren would regain her focus and finish with three birdies on the final six holes. In all, Rachel totaled six birdies which she said was definitely the highlight of the round.

"I was really happy with the way I played here," Newren said. "It's a tough course and I improved everyday."

The difficulty of the course was indicative of the final results. Only one player finished the tournament under par, and that was tournament winner Dewi Schreefel from Southern California who finished two-under-par. She was followed by Duke's Jeni Lee who finished even.

Head coach Sue Nyhus said that the difference for Newren in the final round was her putting. "She has hit the ball well all week," Nyhus said. "Her putts just started falling today and I am really proud of the way she stayed with it and got better each day."

With Newren's 70 on Firday, she broke the 72-hole total of 304 set in 1980 by Pam Miller and tied by Newren last season. She also now has the single best season in BYU women's golf history. She finished the season with a stroke average of 74.6, which tops the previous mark of 74.85.

So, what is in store for Newren now that the season is over? "I have a lot of golf to play this summer, and I am just excited for next season and the opportunity to compete for a national title."

T16 Rachel Newren    78-75-73-70--296 (+8)