Baylor Women's Golf Finishes 21st at NCAA Championship
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Baylor women's golf saw its season come to an end with a 35-over 899 after three rounds at the NCAA Championship at La Costa on Sunday. The Bears fell 10 shots outside the cut line, but junior BaiMai Seema will represent the team individually on Monday.
Seema finished off a strong week and a strong semester with a 4-over 220, earning one of nine spots in the final round awarded to individuals on non-advancing teams. Monday will mark the second time in three seasons that BU will have representation in the final round after Gurleen Kaur played for the green and gold in the fourth round of the 2022 NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.
At 35-over, BU finished behind Arizona State (+26), Michigan State (+28), San Jose State (+28), Pepperdine (+29) and Vanderbilt (+33). Texas A&M leads by one shot entering the final round of stroke play with a 10-under 854.
THE RUNDOWN
Seema made an early birdie at No. 2 before turning at even after a bogey at No. 8. The junior opened the back nine with three-straight pars but made back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14 to drop to 2-over. Seema hit her tee shot in the water at No. 16 and made a triple-bogey six. The triple moved her to 5-over for the day and put her in jeopardy of advancing to the final round. She responded with a huge birdie at No. 17 to get back to 4-over, which would be the final advancing number among individuals.
Ashleen Kaur tied for 41st with a 5-over 221, just a shot outside a playoff to advance to the final round. Kaur made a quick bogey at No. 2 but recovered with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 4 and 5. She made the turn in red figures after a bogey at No. 6 and a birdie at No. 8. Kaur played steady on the second nine with eight pars, around a bogey at No. 16, to finish the day with an even-par 72, her second round at par or better this week.
Sera Hasegawa finished 101st after a 10-over 82 on Sunday. Hasegawa made four bogeys on the front side at Nos. 3, 5, 7 and 8 to make the turn at 4-over. A triple-bogey at No. 12 and bogeys at Nos. 13, 15 and 16 saw her finish the week with a 13-over 229.
Rosie Belsham closed her Baylor career with a 6-over 78, settling into a tie for 124th. After two bogeys in her first three holes, the senior bounced back with a birdie at No. 4. Two more dropped shots at Nos. 6 and 7 saw her turn with a 3-over 39. A pair of double-bogeys at Nos. 13 and 15, around a birdie at No. 14, pushed her back to 6-over for the round to close out her week with a 17-over 233.
Silje Ohma was re-inserted into the lineup and shot a 6-over 78 on Sunday. After a double-bogey seven at No. 2, Ohma clawed back a shot with a birdie at No. 6 ahead of a bogey at No. 9. Three pars opened her inward half, but four bogeys in a five-hole stretch at Nos. 13-17 dropped her to 6-over on the day.
HIGHLIGHTS
BaiMai Seema is the fifth BU player to compete in the NCAA Championship as an individual and the first since Gurleen Kaur in 2022.
Seema's 10 birdies through three rounds tied a season-high.
Ashleen Kaur’s 221 was the lowest 54-hole score by a BU freshman in the NCAA Championship since her sister Gurleen shot a 219 in three rounds at the 2018 NCAA Championship.
QUOTABLE:
Head coach Jay Goble on Seema advancing the final round— “It's been a pretty special couple of weeks for BaiMai. The cool thing about her is that she just needed an opportunity to get in the lineup. She showed us a lot over the last month or so, playing solid all the way back to Arizona State, so I’m excited for her. This is not an easy place, so to go around here over three days at 4-over par, is really good golf. The way she kind of stumbled a little bit at the end, she showed some real grit to come back and birdie 17, which got her to tomorrow.”
Goble on the season as a whole — “This team showed a lot of grit and resilience. It's been a tough year, but it's also been a rewarding year to see people come together when times are tough and find a way to fight their way through. That's a true definition of a great team. And even though we're not going to walk away this week with the national championship trophy, I think we're a great team. We've supported each other, we pulled each other out of the trenches, and we've done a great job even getting here. Nobody would have predicted that in January, February or maybe even March. So to find a way to get out here and play some good golf at the end, even when you don't have your best golf, is of those things we can point to when we look at victories for this year.”
Seema on advancing to Monday — “It's really amazing. I didn't start my first and second year, so I had some experience, so I wasn't really nervous. This is my first full NCAA, but I kept to myself and played the game I've been playing. I just kept it simple and didn’t think about it being the NCAA Championships. I just played it as I have other tournaments over the last month or so, which helped me stay calm and I was able to produce some good numbers. Being in the top 40 and getting to play tomorrow is way more than I thought would happen coming into this week. I figured we would be playing as a team tomorrow, but I’m just excited to go out and represent my teammates tomorrow.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Seema will tee off at 2:31 p.m. CT in the fourth round alongside Kayla Smith of North Carolina and Ashley Menne of Arizona State. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.