Few who encountered the 15th hole at Traditions Club Monday left the green having had much success.
The Texas A&M women’s golf team, who are hosting the Bryan Regional of the NCAA Tournament, didn’t have as much of a home-course advantage on the hole that was changed to a long par-4 by the NCAA.
However, junior Adela Cernousek bagged her third birdie of the day on the hole, which ultimately helped the Aggies record a 1-under, 287 in the opening round, placing the Aggies third.
“It wasn’t very pretty, but this golf course does that to you,” head coach Gerrod Chadwell said. “If you told me we’d shoot anything under par this morning, I’d have taken it.”
The 15th hole traditionally plays as a par 5, at approximately 440 yards. The NCAA, who has the ability to change pin and tee placements, moved the tee box to the forward tees and designated the hole a 386-yard par-4. To keep a total par of 72, the tee box for hole 18 were moved back to the farthest tees and it was designated a par 5.
People are also reading…
Hole 15 was the second-hardest hole of the day, with a 4.43 scoring average. Cernousek was the only Aggie to birdie the hole and one of only four to record below par.
The final hole of the round was the easiest, with a scoring average of 4.89.
Through the back nine of Monday’s round, the Aggies were battling in the top three positions, hovering around par. Cernousek hit a booming drive on 15 that dropped her approximately 120 yards away from the pin. Her approach left her with a putt inside 10 feet, which she sunk for the birdie, giving the Aggies the lead at that time.
“I think the pin being on the left is super hard, because there’s not much space to bounce the ball, so I can see why it was a hard hole today,” she said.
Thanks to another pair of birdies on 11 and 12, Cernousek led her team with a 2-under, 70 on the round, which put her in sole possession of fifth place.
“It’s the tale between two nines here,” Chadwell said. “The front nine plays so much harder than the back. So, if you can just stay patient, you can get your licks on the back nine. It’s just another day for Adela and I’m glad she’s on my team.”
The leading effort came in front of Cernousek’s mother, who made her first trip from Antibes, France to the United States to watch her daughter play. Chadwell said the mothers of all five top golfers were able to watch their daughters compete in the NCAA Tournament on their home course.
“She’s as happy as she can be right now,” Chadwell said of Cernousek.
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio held the lead for the Aggies through the front nine, but gave up a bogey on 16, before regaining the stroke with a birdie on 18. She finished tied for sixth with a 1-under 71.
A back-nine bogey for Jennie Park and Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio gave the pair both 1-over, 73s to round out A&M’s scoring golfers. Zoe Slaughter shot a 5-over, 77, which did not count towards A&M’s team score.
Traditions had taken on more than 10 inches of rain over the last week, which made the course play longer than the listed 6,376 Chadwell said. That, combined with tricky pin positions, made for a day destined for high-scoring rounds.
“When I got the hole location sheet last night, I was like, ‘Man, that’s some of the toughest ones we have,’” he said. “So, I didn’t think the scores would be very low today.”
SMU and LSU finished the opening round tied with a 2-under, 286. Both Ingrid Lindblad, who ranks No. 1 in the world amateur rankings, and Latanna Stone posted 4-under 68s for LSU to sit in a tie for first. SMU’s Mackenzie Lee also tied the low mark to complete the three-way share.
Clemson (3-over, 291), Iowa State (5-over, 293) and Ohio State (6-over, 294) round out the top six after 18 holes.
The Aggies remain in the top three pairings Tuesday, alongside the Tigers and Mustangs. Action begins at 8 a.m., with Slaughter hitting the course, followed by Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, Park, Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Cernousek every ten minutes after. The top five teams from the regional after three rounds advances to the NCAA Championship.
Chadwell said, sitting in third and a stroke behind the lead, is a great place to be after the opening round.
“We’ve just got to stay patient, let them go clean some things they want to get cleaned up and know that we’re going to be really tough to beat on this golf course,” Chadwell said. “We’ve got to stay patient and wait till we catch some fire.”
