Challenging Day has Buffs In Fifth At Barbara Nicklaus Cup

DUBLIN, Ohio. — The first-day winner of the Barbara Nicklaus Cup might just be the Muirfield Village Golf Club course itself.

The University of Colorado women’s golf team sits in fifth place after two rounds of the Barbara Nicklaus Cup at 66-over, 642, but thanks to high scores across the board, the Buffaloes are only 10 strokes out of the lead.

 

Tulsa and TCU are tied for the lead after 36 holes at 56-over, 632, six strokes ahead third place Maryland and seven ahead of fourth place Notre Dame. Tulsa had a double-digit stroke lead heading down the stretch of the second round but dropped 14 strokes on its final five holes to fall into a tie with TCU.

 

While the Buffaloes certainly wish they could have played better, they were by no means alone with high numbers being the norm on the 6,362-yard par 72 course that provided a challenge for the entire field. Colorado was 38-over after round one, but rallied to shave 10 strokes off its second round.

 

“In all my years of golf I think it’s probably the hardest course I’ve seen,” Colorado head coach Anne Kelly said. “It’s a great golf course, but it’s a great course for PGA pros. It’s really difficult.”

 

There were no individual rounds in the red. Only two out of 80 rounds were even par. There were 13 rounds in the 70s in round one; 13 in round two.

 

The average round on the day was 81.6, nearly 10-over par.

 

“The greens are quite firm, so they’re very hard to hold,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of rough that’s really well bunkered. It’s definitely challenging and will test every part of your game.”

 

Sophomore Natalie Vo had the best overall day for the Buffaloes, tied for seventh at 12-over, 156. Vo had the third-best single round of the day in the entire field with her 1-over, 73 in the second. Starting on the back nine, she made par on her first six holes. Vo bogeyed the 158-yard, par 3, No. 16 but immediately got back to even with a birdie at the 378-yard, par 4, No. 17. She then made par on eight of nine holes on the front to cement her 73.

 

Vo’s second round was a nice recovery from an 83 in the first. She had nine holes in the first round where she played bogey or worse, but she came back to make par on every single one of those holes in the second round.

 

“I think (Natalie’s) game suits a tough course well because she’s very…