Sunday, February 11
Palos Verdes Estates, CA
All Day
UCLA
at
Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge
Sophomore Mariel Galdiano has finished inside the Top 11 in all four tournaments this season.
Top-Ranked Bruins Open Spring in Palos Verdes
February 10, 2018 | Women's Golf
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PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. - The top-ranked Bruins look to pick up right where they left off, opening the spring season at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge. The 54-hole tournament will run from Sunday through Tuesday at the Palos Verdes Golf Club, a par-71, 6,017-yard layout.
The starting fivesome for UCLA will be senior Joo Seo, juniors Lilia Vu and Beth Wu, sophomore Mariel Galdiano and freshman Patty Tavatanakit. In addition, senior Erin Choi will be competing as an individual. Action on Sunday and Monday gets underway at 9 a.m., with the final round on Tuesday being a shotgun start beginning at 8:30 a.m. Sunday's tee times for the Bruin scoring fivesome will start at 9:33 a.m. off the first tee in the order of Seo, Galdiano, Tavatanakit, Vu and Wu, with Choi starting at 9:11 a.m. off the 10th tee. Live scoring will be available here.
Joining the Bruins and host Ohio State in the 18-team field are #2 Duke, #3 Alabama, #5 Stanford, #6 Arizona State, #8 Oklahoma State, #10 Texas, #11 USC, #12 Northwestern, #18 Florida, #23 Wake Forest, #25 Washington, #28 Tennessee, #33 UNLV, #39 Arizona, #46 Baylor and #49 San Diego State (ranking as of Nov. 21, 2017).
The Bruins ended the fall as the hottest team in the nation, winning their final three events at the Battle at the Beach (Nov. 3-5), the Nanea Pac-12 Preview (Oct. 23-24) and the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 16-18). All four of their fall tournaments saw them shoot under par as a team (combined 40 under), including a 20-under total at Nanea and a 13-under score at the Battle at the Beach. UCLA has posted a pair of under-par rounds in three of its four tournaments, shooting a 12-under 272 in the final round at the Battle and a 12-under 280 in the final round at the rain-shortened Nanea. The Bruins opened the season with a second-place finish at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Oct. 1-3).
Wu has placed in the Top 20 in all four tournaments, including three inside the Top 6. She was fourth at Nanea and tied for sixth at both Stanford and the Battle. She is a combined 6-under on the season, having shot five under-par rounds, including a season-best, 5-under 66 to close out her fall schedule in Cabo on Nov. 5. Wu finished under par at that tournament (-3, 210), as well as the Nanea Pac-12 Preview (-4, 142), when she shot a final-round 68 (-5). The junior is a combined 11-under par in her second and third rounds this season.
Vu recorded the fifth tournament victory of her career and first of the season, overcoming a one-shot deficit to win the Battle at the Beach by one stroke. She closed with a 4-under 67 to finish at 8-under 205, as the junior would go on to be named Pac-12 Conference Golfer of the Month for November, the third monthly award of her career. Vu was under par in every round in Cabo and she has gone in red figures in seven of her eight competitive rounds. She shot a 6-under 67 in the first round at Nanea, where she finished second with a 36-hole score of -7 (139). Vu also had a pair of 69s at the Battle and a pair of 70s at Stanford, where she tied for sixth (E, 213). Her 69.6 scoring average is sixth in the nation.
Tavatanakit has three Top 10s and four Top 20s to open her collegiate career, recording a scoring average of 70.4, which is second on the team. She was co-medalist at the Stanford Intercollegiate, shooting a 6-under 207. All three of her rounds were under par, including a final-round 67 (-4). Tavatanakit has been under par in seven of her 11 rounds, including three in the 60s. She posted a 5-under 68 in the final round at Nanea, where she placed third (-5, 141) and a 3-under 69 in the second round at the ANNIKA, where she finished second (-5, 211). Tavatanakit closed her fall with a T-16 at the Battle (+2, 215).
Galdiano had a season-best T-5 finish at the Nanea, where she shot a pair of 1-under 72s for a 36-hole score of 2-under 144. In her other three tournaments, she has placed either solo or tied for 11th. Galdiano was under par at the ANNIKA (-1, 215), posting a 3-under 69 to close the tournament. The sophomore also had 3-under 68s to close out the Stanford Intercollegiate (+3, 216) and the Battle at the Beach (E, 213). Watch out for Galdiano on Tuesday, as she is a combined 9-under in her round threes this season.
Seo appeared in two events in the fall, tying for 14th as an individual at the UC Irvine Invitational (+6, 222) and placing 59th at the season-opening ANNIKA (+25, 241). The senior shot an even-par 72 in her first round at the UCI Invite (Oct. 30-31), closing with a pair of 3-over 75s. Choi also appeared in Irvine as an individual, her lone event of the fall. She tied for 54th (+21, 237).
The Bruins have won the Regional Challenge three times in the last decade (2013, 2013, 2008), with Bronte Law (2015) and Erynne Lee (2013) earning medalist honors.
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