White leads Cougars to 11th place after NCAA First Round

Day 1

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EUGENE, Oregon — Behind a 2-under-par 70 performance by Alexandra White, BYU women's golf posted a 6-over-par round of 294 to claim 11th place after the first round of the NCAA Championships on Friday at Eugene Country Club.

"We came ready to play today and I thought we got off to a great start," BYU head coach Carrie Roberts said. "Our back nine was really challenging and we just hung in there and played tough. The course played long today. There wasn't a lot of wind, but I think the cool air and some of the pin placements were a little tricky. Overall, I thought we handled it well."

White got off to an impressive start with birdies on the first two holes before making the turn with a 1-under-par 34. Despite difficult pin placements, White stuck four of her five birdies on the day within a foot of the cup to set up easy tap-ins. 

"Today was a lot of fun," White said. "I still have some improvements to make for tomorrow, but I was throwing darts today. Sticking the ball close to the hole made my life easy."

The junior birdied the 10th, 11th and 16th holes on the Cougars front nine before carding two more birdies on holes 8 and 9 to close out her round. White is tied for 11th place, individually.

"Alex played really well today with a solid 70," Roberts said. "Obviously Kendra Dalton also played super again today. Her play has been solid, which is huge for us. I was also proud of Brooklyn who finished the day with a solid 75. Honestly, it was a real team effort."

Dalton shot even par and is tied for 29th place.

"Our team is strong," White added. "Everyday at least one of us pulls through with a low round."

Brooklyn Hocker posted a 3-over-par 75 in today's opening round and sits in 69th place. Senior captain Lea Garner carded a 5-over-par 77, while Rose Huang rounded out the scoring for the Cougars with an 81.

BYU women's golf is in sole possession of 11th place after the first round of the NCAA Championships. The Cougars sit just one shot behind three teams (Virginia, Ohio State, South Carolina) tied for eighth place at five-over-par. Oklahoma State is in first place with an opening round 284, followed by UCLA (286), Washington (289), USC (289) and Arizona (291) rounding out the top five.

BYU women’s golf will continue play at the NCAA Championships, Saturday. The 2016 WCC champions are scheduled to tee off at 1:06 p.m. PST. Follow the Cougars live at the NCAA Championships.

NCAA Championships - May 20, 2016