East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State’s women’s golf team fired a 9-under par 279 in the first round and leads the field at the Big Ten Championships, being held at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md., just outside of Baltimore.
The three-round, 54-hole event will take place Friday-Sunday, April 19-21, at Bulle Rock Golf Course (par 71, 6,045 yards) in Havre de Grace, Md.
The Spartans tee off at 10:18 a.m. on Saturday, playing alongside Northwestern and Michigan.
Michigan State reached 10-under par at one point late in the first round before closing the first day of play at 9-under par 279. Northwestern is in second place at 1-under par 287, with Michigan and Indiana tied for third place at even-par 288 and Purdue rounds out the top-five teams at 4-over par 292.
Sophomore Paula Balanzategui led the Spartans on Friday and is tied for the individual lead in the field of 84 golfers with a career-best 5-under par 67. Balanzategui, who shares the lead with Northwestern’s Lauryn Nguyen, had five birdies, 13 pars during the first round.
She is one of four Spartans among the top-10 overall.
Junior Katie Lu is tied for fourth place at 2-under 70, finishing her round with five birdies and playing the back nine in 2-under par.
Senior Leila Raines and graduate Valentina Rossi are tied for sixth place with scores of 1-under par 71, respectively. Raines and Rossi each had three birdies and 13 pars during their rounds.
Junior Brooke Biermann is tied for 33rd place at 3-over par 75 and junior Shannon Kennedy is tied for 60th place at 6-over par 78.
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Michigan State University Athletics…