East Lansing, Mich. – Paced by a 3-under par 69 from sophomore Brooke Biermann, Michigan State’s women’s golf team fired a 3-under par 285 and is in first place among 12 teams after the first round of play at the NCAA Palm Beach Regional, being played at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
The three-day, 54-hole event, being played on the par-72, 6,312-yard course at PGA National, continues on Tuesday with 18 holes and concludes on Wednesday.
The top five teams and two individuals (not among the top five teams) will advance from regional competition to play in the NCAA Championships, which will be held from May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Michigan State has three golfers among the top-five in the field of 66 and four among the top-20 overall and leads the field at 3-under par 285.
“Day One, I’m super proud,” Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. “Shooting an under-par score out here I thought was awesome. There are a couple of holes out here called “The Bear Trap,” and the team was all fired up when we went through there like, ‘We tamed the Bear Trap.’
“Today felt really nice not to have the winds we did Sunday (during the practice round) and have some normal shots in. We did what we needed to do on Day One. Two more days to go.”
The Spartans hold an 11-shot lead over second place South Florida (8-over par 296). Arkansas is in third place at 9-over par 297, while Duke, LSU and Texas are all tied for fourth place at 10-over par 298.
Biermann continued her strong play this season and birdied her last hole of the day – the par-4, 363-yard 9th hole – to finish at 3-under par 69, one shot ahead of Miami’s Sara Byrne. Biermann finished the day with five birdies and 11 pars to lead the way for the Spartans. Her five birdies is second in the field and she is tied for the lead with a 3.80 average on par-4s
“The Honda Classic is played here, so it’s a PGA Tournament golf course,” Slobodnik-Stoll said. “It’s a difficult golf course, lots of carries, difficult pin placements. It’s a great test of golf.
“Brooke played phenomenally, but I would say they played consistent and steady. I saw some great shots from everyone, some good up and downs. It was an all-around team effort today.”
Sophomore Katie Lu and junior Valentina Rossi are two shots off the lead and tied for fourth place with scores of a…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Michigan State University Athletics…