SAN JOSE, Calif.-- On a sunny and scorching day at Almaden Golf and Country Club for the Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational, USF currently sits in 10th place after shooting rounds of 308 and 305 (+37) to finish the first 36 holes of the tournament.
BYU is in the lead after day one with a 14-over par total of 590. San Jose St. and Colorado sit tied for second- two strokes behind the leading Cougars. Santa Clara and UC Irvine round out the top-5 with both teams shooting 602 (+26).
Last year's medalist, My Leander of the Spartans leads the field with Kendra Dalton of BYU at 3-under par. USF's Vanessa Ha is the low Dons player as she carded rounds of 78 and 72 for a 6-over par finish.
Ha struggled in the opening round of the tournament, but bounced back nicely with an even-par score in the second round. The junior carded a nice birdie on the 489 yard par 5 first hole. After two bogeys to finish the front nine, Ha scored birdies on 10 and 16 to finish the round an even-par 72.
Much like the consistent 90 degree heat, senior Alison Lillie played steady golf throughout the day. Lillie carded a total of 151 to sit in a tie for 20th place. Despite shooting 5-over in the front nine of the second round, Lillie battled through the back nine with birdies on 10, 11 and the par 3 13th hole.
Sophomore Mabel Wong shot a total of 156 (+12) in the first two rounds. In the first round, Wong started off slow with three bogeys in the first four holes of the day. She would then go on to birdie the 10th, 15th and 17th to finish the first round 4-over par.
Senior Ayaka Suzuki shot a 36 hole total of 156 and freshman Samantha Gong finished the day with a 161.
Competing as an individual, junior Emily Laskin leads the four individuals in the field with a low score of 153 (+9). After 36 holes, Laskin is four strokes clear of the next individual player, Felicia Taverrite of Long Beach St..
Tomorrow's final round will also play in shotgun format, with the Dons teeing off on holes 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. All tee times are scheduled for 9 a.m.
