Golf Goes Low in First Round of The Clash at Boulder Creek

BOULDER CITY, Nev. (Oct. 20, 2024) - It was a beautiful day out on the course as the Northern Arizona women's golf team played the first round of the Clash at Boulder Creek. The Boulder Creek golf course plays as a par 72 at 6,334 yards. The team currently sits in solo third place with a score of -8. Fresno State is the clubhouse leader with a team score of -16, followed by San Francisco with a score of -14.

Sophomore Amy Hodgkins is tied as the clubhouse leader, shooting a career-low round of 66 (-6). She had a bogey-free round and carded birdies on holes two, seven, 10, and 16. Hodgkins also eagled the 531-yard par-five 13th hole. After a drive down the middle, she laid up to the green and would hole out from 32 yards with her 60-degree wedge. She was -4 on the par-fives, leading the tournament with a 4.00 average. Her 3.80 (-2) average on the par-fours puts her in a tie for sixth.

"My round was pretty decent today, I hit a lot of fairways and greens and was lucky to have some putts drop," said Hodgkins.

One shot behind her was junior Lizzie Neale who also went low with a 67 (-5) to put her in a tie for sixth place individually. It would be the lowest round of her season so far, also bogey-free. She made birdies on holes two, four, eight, 11 and 12. The putter was hot for Neale as she drained her birdie putt on the par-three 12th hole from 60 feet away. She currently leads the field in par-three scoring with -3, averaging 2.25.

"It was a good day overall," said Neale. "I hit the ball solid and it was nice to see some putts roll in."

True Freshman Sumin Kang recorded 17 pars and one single bogey for a round of 73 (+1), leading to her career-low. On the individual leaderboard, Kang stands in a tie for 38th place. She leads the tournament in number of pars.

Frankie Dezis trailed by one with a score of 74 (+2), scoring three birdies on holes one, two and 15. She is currently tied for 47th on the leaderboard. 

Ellena Slater put up a score of 79 (+7), with birdies back-to-back on the second and third holes, to place in a tie for 86th.

Nina Lukyanenko competed as an individual. Lukyanenko shot a round of 75 (+3) recording birdies on the third, ninth, 15th, and 18th holes, and is tied for 60th. She averaged 3.90 on the par-fours. 

As a team, Northern Arizona leads in the field in two categories. Firstly for the most pars, tallying 64. Secondly in par-five scoring with a total of -6 for the day, averaging 4.70. The 'Jacks are tied for third in par-three scoring with a 2.90 average (-2). They posted 14 birdies as a team, ranking tied for eighth. 

The second round will start at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Standard time tomorrow with a shotgun start. The Lumberjacks will be grouped with Fresno State and San Francisco, starting on holes one through three. Live scoring of the event will be available through Clippd.

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NAU Individual Scores
T1    Amy Hodgkins 66 (-6)
T6    Lizzie Neale 67 (-5)
T38    Sumin Kang 73 (+1)
T47    Frankie Dezis 74 (+2)
T*60    Nina Lukyanenko 75 (+3)
T85    Ellena Slater 79 (+7)
*individual

Full Results
1    Fresno State -16
2    San Francisco -14
3    Northern Arizona -8
4    Drake -6
5    UC Riverside -4
T6    Boise State -1
T6    Northern Colorado -1
8    Washington State E
T9    South Dakota State +1
T9    Tarleton State +1
11    UTRGV +4
T12    CSU Bakersfield +5
T12    CSU Fullerton +5
14    Illinois State +7
15    Southern Utah +12
16    Texas El Paso +13
17    Incarnate Word +22