No. 14 Baylor WGOLF’s Hasegawa Leads Baylor to a Third-Place Finish at the PING/ASU Interc

TEMPE, Ariz.  – Sera Hasegawa took home a share of the individual title as Baylor women’s golf clinched a third-place finish on Sunday at the PING/ASU Intercollegiate at Papago Golf Club.

Hasegawa shot a third-straight round in the 60s with a 4-under 68 to share individual medalist honors with Northwestern’s Kelly Sim, who also shot a 10-under 206. Hasegawa’s win marks the second time in three seasons that Baylor has had multiple individual champions in the same season.

No. 23 Northwestern finished off a wire-to-wire team victory with an 18-under 846, 14 shots better than the host, No. 11 Arizona State, and 21 shots better than the third-place Bears.

THE RUNDOWN

Hasegawa used a final-round 68 to secure her career-first win. After opening with a par, Hasegawa would not make another until No. 9. Following a birdie at No. 2, Hasegawa made a double bogey at No. 3 to drop back over par. Following the double, she birdied four of the next five holes, interrupted only by a bogey at No. 6, for a 2-under 34 on the front nine. Birdies at Nos. 10, 14 and 16 gave Hasegawa a two-shot lead with two holes to play. Northwestern’s Sim closed the gap with a par at 17 and pulled even when she birdied No. 18 and Hasegawa made a par to close out the round.

Britta Snyder shot a 3-over 75 on Saturday to finish in a tie for 30th. Snyder started with a pair of pars before a bogey at No. 3 dropped her to 1-over, where she would finish her front nine. Snyder got back to even par with a birdie at No. 10, before a bogey at No. 15 and a double bogey at No. 16 dropped her back to 3-over for the day and 5-over for the tournament.

Silje Ohma finished tied for 30th after a 2-over 74 on Sunday. The freshman got off to a steady start with seven-straight pars but made her lone birdie of the front nine at No. 8. Ohma made a birdie at No. 10 to open the back nine, followed by a double-bogey at the par-3 11th. Following the double, she played her final seven holes at even par with a birdie at No. 14 and a bogey at No. 17.

Rosie Belsham finished tied for 36th with a 1-over 73 on Sunday. The reining Big 12 Golfer of the Month made an early bogey at No. 3 but bounced back with a pair of birdies at Nos. 6 and 7 to close out the front nine in red figures. A birdie at No. 12 got Belsham to 2-under on the round before bogeys at Nos. 13, 14 and 18 dropped her back over par for the day.

Hannah Karg finished tied for 25th following a 3-over 75 on Sunday. Karg made a pair of bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 but got a shot back with a birdie at No. 5 to finish the front nine with a 1-over 37. Karg finished with a 2-over 38 on the back with bogeys at Nos. 14 and 17.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Baylor finished the event 5-2 against top-25 foes this week, including a perfect 3-0 against top-10 teams.
• BU had the second-best par-4 scoring average for the week (4.05).
• Baylor’s four eagles were the most in the field. No other team had more than one.
• Sera Hasegawa joined Rosie Belsham as a first-time winner this season.
• Hasegawa has now shot par or better in 67% of her rounds this season.
• Hasegawa’s score of 206 is the fifth-best score on a par-72 course in program history.
• The sophomore tied for the second-best par-4 scoring average (3.87).
• Hasegawa and Silje Ohma tied for the second-best par-5 scoring average (4.58).
• Britta Snyder’s tie for 30th was her best 54-hole finish as a member of the lineup this season.

QUOTABLE

Head coach Jay Goble on Sera Hasegawa’s win: “I am so proud of Sera for getting her first win as a Baylor Bear. I believe this is just the start for her."

Goble on the team’s performance: "We fought hard for every shot, and I am so happy with how they played against a stacked field this week. We will return to Waco and prepare for the Big 12 Match Play back here in a few weeks."

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears will participate in the first-ever Big 12 Women’s Match Play April 7-9 in Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information on Baylor Women’s Golf, follow @BaylorWGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.