FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Friday’s opening round of the 2023-24 Arizona Women’s Golf season mirrored a strong start to last season. Sophomore Nena Wongthanavimok fired an opening-round 68 on the first day of the Mason Rudolph Championship, marking the second consecutive year she has carded a 68 in the opening round of the season. The Wildcats shot 5-under as a team to end the first round of the tournament in seventh place.
“We got off to a good start today with Nena and Gile posting really strong rounds for us,” said head coach Laura Ianello. “There are a couple of small adjustments for us to make moving forward, but that is part of the process of a first round of the season. These ladies will continue to compete and battle for the remainder of the weekend, and I am confident we will have more strong performances over the next two days.”
Wongthanavimok sits in a tie for sixth place with her 4-under performance with graduate senior Gile Bite Starkute finishing one stroke behind her in a tie for eighth. Starkute was bogey-free on the front nine on Friday and was Arizona’s best player on Vanderbilt Legends Club’s par 5’s. With an opening round of 69, Starkute also shot her lowest opening round of a season in her five years as a Wildcat.
Arizona enters Saturday in seventh place and within three strokes of the next four teams above them in the standings. Auburn leads the field with a team score of 14-under par, and the Tigers have the top two individuals for Friday’s round in Amu Gianchandani who carded a 64 and Megan Schofill who shot 6-under par.
The Cats will be paired with SEC foes, LSU and Kentucky, in Saturday’s second round. The teams will go off from the first hole at 6:30 a.m. (MST).
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