Baylor WGOLF Cruises to Victory at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Rosie Belsham won co-medalist honors, leading Baylor women’s golf to its second Rainbow Wahine Invitational in as many appearances, on Wednesday, with a dominating 20-under 844.

The Bears finished 19 shots ahead of New Mexico State and UC Davis to secure the 22nd team title in the Jay Goble Era. Wednesday marked the seventh time in program history that BU shot a team round of 275 or better on a par-72 course.

Belsham shared the individual title with Cal State Fullerton’s Davina Xanh and was one of three Baylor players to finish inside the top-10. Britta Snyder shot a 66 to finish tied for third, and YoonJeong Huh tied for sixth. All five lineup players finished in the top 20 for the Bears.

THE RUNDOWN

Belsham started her round with a quick birdie at No. 2 but gave it back with a bogey at No. 5. The senior made the turn in red figures with a birdie at No. 9 and added two more at Nos. 13 and 17, giving her the lead. She gave a shot back with a bogey on No. 18 to share medalist honors.

Snyder tied for third on the heels of a 6-under 66, one shot off the school record. Starting on No. 3, Snyder burst out of the gates with eight birdies in her first 12 holes at Nos. 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14 to surge into the lead. Her first bogey of the day came at No. 15, which dropped her into a tie for first, and a final bogey at No. 1 put her in a tie for third.

Huh made a pair of early birdies at Nos. 3 and 4, but gave them back with bogeys at Nos. 5 and 8 to make the turn at even par. Following a bogey at No. 10, Huh finished strong with four birdies in her final seven holes to get back under par, finish with a 3-under 69 and tally her career-best finish, a tie for sixth.

Sera Hasegawa finished 11th, thanks to a 2-under 70 in the final round. Starting at No. 2, the junior played her first eight holes at even par before carding her first bogey at No. 10. A birdie at No. 12 kicked off a stretch of four birdies in five holes to get Hasegawa to 3-under. She finished with a bogey on her final hole of the day at No. 1.

Ashleen Kaur carded a tie for 20th with an even-par 72 on Wednesday. After starting at No. 4, Kaur made four straight pars before her first bogey of the day at No. 8. Kaur's first birdie of the day came at No. 11. She added another at No. 2 before a bogey on her final hole of the day at No. 3.

BaiMai Seema wrapped up another strong showing in Hawaii with a tie for 17th. Mallory Matthews finished tied for 83rd, while Hannah Herbel finished 88th.

HIGHLIGHTS

Baylor led the field in par-3 (3.03) and par-4 (3.91) scoring average.

BU’s 55 birdies were the most in the field this week.

The win is Jay Goble’s 22nd at Baylor.

BU’s 20-under 844 is the ninth lowest in program history.

Baylor's final-round 275 tied for the eighth-best round in team history.

Rosie Belsham recorded her eighth top-5 finish, tying for the fifth-most in program history.

Britta Snyder shot a 6-under 66, one off the school record and one off her career-best round.

Snyder’s 66 tied for the 10th-best score in program history on a par-72 course.

Snyder moved into a tie for seventh in career top-10 finishes.

The senior’s 66 was her best score since 2021 when she shot a career-best 65.

Yoonjeong Huh recorded her career-first top-10 finish while shooting three rounds at par or better.

BaiMai Seema carded her third-career top-25 finish.

QUOTABLE:

Head coach Jay Goble — “We've been talking a lot about overcoming adversity with how tough the last couple of months have been. Not having our home course at Ridgewood to play our way out of this slump we've been in has been difficult. Being in Hawaii brought the best out in our attitudes and outlook. We decided that we were coming here with the will to win. We didn't want to come here for a vacation, we wanted to come here and play well and prepare to win a golf tournament. As a coach, what excites me is that we actually did all of the above.”

Goble on the depth showed this week — “We got good performances out of everyone this week, even from our individuals who played pretty well this week. Bringing almost the entire team has been awesome because it turned into a mini-retreat. We've been eating, hanging out, and doing activities, making it a great team-building experience this week for us.”

Goble on Rosie capturing her second-career win — “She would be the first one to tell you she has been in as big of a slump as anyone this fall and told us that she didn’t feel like her game was in a good place. Being out here in Hawaii definitely brought the best out in her, and she was able to find a way to close out the fall semester on a high note. It took a lot of guts and fortitude for her to come out here and win a tournament when she didn’t necessarily feel like her game was in great shape, but that’s what good golfers do.”

WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor's fall semester has come to an end. They will resume play at the Match in the Desert on Jan. 22, 2024, at Superstition Mountain Golf Club in Gold Canyon, Ariz.