Baylor women’s golfers Maria Vesga and Amy Lee tied for first place individually, and the Lady Bears finished sixth in a 15-team field at the 2017 Lady Puerto Rico Classic at Rio Mar Country Club. BU shot 6-over-par 294 in Tuesday’s final round to finish the tournament at 23-over 887.
Vesga shot even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish at 1-under 215, while Lee carded a 1-over 73 to finish with the same score. Lee birdied her final two holes to move into a tie for first, the same feat she accomplished on her way to medalist honors in the 2016 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown in October. The BU duo joined Maryland’s Panitta Yusabai, Furman’s Haylee Harford and North Carolina State’s Naomi Ko in a five-way tie for first place in the 80-player field.
Freshman Fiona Liddell shot a final-round 4-over 76 to finish tied for 30th place at 9-over 225. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Kim posted a 2-over 74 to place 65th at 17-over 233, and senior Maggie Beth Byers carded a 3-over 75 to finish in 75th place at 24-over 240.
Baylor (+23) finished 10 shots back of tournament champion North Carolina State (+13). Furman (+14), Kent State (+14), TCU (+19) and Georgia (+20) also finished ahead of the Lady Bears. BU recorded wins over Texas Tech (+29), Arkansas (+31), Michigan (+32), Iowa State (+36), Purdue (+40), Vanderbilt (+42), Augusta (+42), Maryland (+47) and LSU (+48). The Lady Bears are now 67-19-1 on the season.
HIGHLIGHTS
Amy Lee earned her second win at Baylor – she also won the 2016 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown in October.
Maria Vesga earned her first collegiate win – her previous best finish was a tie for sixth place at the 2016 Dallas Athletic Club Invitational in April.
Lee now has four top-five finishes in six events at Baylor and has finished outside the top 10 just once.
Baylor finished third in par-3 scoring at 11-over 3.18, tied for eighth in par-4 scoring at 35-over 4.23 and tied for eighth in par-5 scoring at 2-over 5.03.
Baylor combined for 44 birdies, one back of the tournament lead (Kent State).
Lee was the only player in the field to make two eagles in the tournament.
Lee tied for third in par-5 scoring at 4-under 4.67, tied for sixth in par-3 scoring at even-par 3.00 and tied for 15th in par-4 scoring at 3-over 4.10.
Vesga tied for third in par-4 scoring at 1-under 3.97, tied for 14th in par-5 scoring at 2-under 4.83 and tied for 20th in par-3 scoring at 2-over 3.17.
Vesga led the field with 15 birdies, two more than any other player.
Fiona Liddell tied for ninth in par-4 scoring at 1-over 4.03.
STAT OF THE DAY
15 – Maria Vesga made 15 birdies in the 54-hole tournament, two more than any other player.
TOP QUOTE
“This was a bittersweet event in Puerto Rico,” head coach Jay Goble said. “I’m very happy for Maria and Amy finishing tied for first, but I believe we were prepared to play better than we did. Amy had her ups and downs all week, but she fought strong at the end today and finished with two birdies to get her second win of the year. I’m especially happy for Maria, because she played her heart out this week and earned her first collegiate win. She deserves it for doing everything the right way.”
