Clemson leads at end of first round of NCAA National Championship

Carlsbad, Calif. – Behind a six-under-par 66 from Isabella Rawl, the Clemson women’s golf team fired a team score of 280 and has the team lead at the end of the first round of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at LaCosta Champions Golf Course in Carlsbad, California.   The Tigers have a one-shot lead over Texas A&M entering Saturday’s second round on the par 72 course that measures 6,297 yards.

It marks the first time the Clemson women’s program has had the lead at the end of a round of the NCAA National Tournament.

Clemson finished the opening round with a 280, one shot better than Texas A&M’s 281.  Stanford, Auburn and Northwestern are all tied for third at 285. 

Play continues on Saturday with 18 more holes for the 30 teams in the field.   Live scoring and pairings are available at golfstat.com.  Clemson will play in the afternoon wave on Saturday.

Rawl’s six-under-par 66 is her career-best round and the best round ever by a Clemson women’s golfer in the NCAA  National Tournament.  It’s the second best round in any NCAA Tournament (regionals/championship) behind Savannah Grewal’s 63 last season at the NCAA Pullman Regional. 

Rawl is in second place after the first round at six-under-par, one shot behind Florida State’s Lottie Woad, who earlier this spring won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.  Rawl and Woad both had eight birdies to lead the field of 156 golfers.  Rawl’s eight birdies tied for the third most in a single round in Clemson history.

Rawl birdied five of her first eight holes (starting on No. 10) to finish her first nine holes at four-under-par. On her second nine (1-9), the Lexington, S.C., native continued her hot start, with three birdies to finish her first round at six-under.   

Annabelle Pancake continued her steady play after her second-place finish at the NCAA Bryan Regional.  In Friday’s opening round she posted birdies on 17 and 18 (after a start on No. 10) to finish her first nine at -2. The Zionsville, Ind., native then birdied the first hole and the sixth on the way to finishing with a three-under-par score of 69. Pancake is also in the top 10 after the first round with an eighth place standing.

Melena Barrientos was the only other Tiger to finish her round under par, her fifth under-par round of the year, but her third in the last five rounds. She is in 17th place individually, giving Clemson three of the top 20 golfers after the opening 18 holes.   Sydney Roberts had five birdies on the day, but finished at two-over par 74, while Chloe Holder rounded out the Tigers’ lineup with a +9, 81.

Clemson’s team-score of 280 is the lowest round (gross score) in an NCAA National Championship by a Tiger team. Of the teams who teed off in the morning, the Tigers finished six-shots ahead of San Jose State, seven shots ahead of Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Florida State, and eight shots better than Michigan State.