Senior Maddie Szeryk fired a 4-under 68 to earn the outright individual lead and lead the Texas A&M women’s golf team in the first round of the NCAA Austin Regional on Monday.
“Today's round really helped our team a lot,” said Szeryk. “I was hitting it pretty well throughout the day, so I gave myself chances on most every hole. Starting the round, I had two birdies in a row, and I stayed really confident throughout the round."
As a team, the Aggies shot a 7-over 295, four shots out of the tie for sixth place. After three rounds, the top six teams, and the top three individuals not on an advancing team, earn a berth in the NCAA Championships, May 18-23 in Stillwater, Okla. Host school Texas leads the tournament with a 7-under 281.
“It was a good day,” said Texas A&M head coach Trelle McCombs. “Whenever you have a young lineup, you never know what you are going to get, especially at NCAA Regionals, and I’m really proud of them. Maddie was stellar today, going out and doing what she knows how to do.”
Szeryk extended her NCAA record with her 88th career par-or-better round, highlighted by an eagle on the 459 yard, par 5 fifth, where she hit the flagstick on her second shot, leaving her with a three-foot eagle putt. Szeryk holds a one-stroke lead over four players tied for second.
Freshman Amber Park carded a 1-under 71 on the par 72 / 6,341 track to tie for 15th, recording only a single bogey on the day. Park is one stroke off the cut to advance to the NCAA Championships as an individual.
Austin native Morgan Lay had three birdies as she shot a 5-over 77 at the University of Texas Golf Club, tying for 70th.
Sophomore Courtney Dow shot a 7-over 79, carding three birdies to tie for 82nd. Freshman Ariana Saenz is tied for 91st after a 10-over 82 on Monday.
The Aggies tee off in the second of three rounds at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.
