BOULDER CITY, Nev. (Oct. 22, 2024) - The third and final round of The Clash at Boulder Creek was record-breaking for the Northern Arizona Women's golf team. Not only did it break the current record for the lowest round of 18 with a team score of -21, it also went on to break the record for lowest 54-hole score with a total of -27. The Lumberjacks climbed four spots on the leaderboard to take their second runner-up finish in a row.
"We played some incredible golf today, having everybody shoot under par of our top five was quite amazing and I couldn't be more proud of it," head coach Brad Bedortha said. "I am proud of how they handled themselves today. We didn't play badly yesterday, we just didn't quite execute things the way we needed to, but today everything fell in place."
Amy Hodgkins moved up two spots to finish in fourth place individually, finishing as the highest-placed Lumberjack with a total score of -12. She made one single bogey on the eighth hole and made six birdies on holes two, three, 12, 14, 16 and 17. An average of 3.87 (-4) on the par-fours would rank her tied for eighth. In terms of par-five scoring, Hodgkins was tied for third-best in the field with a 4.42 average (-7). She tied for second in eagles with her one from the first round and carded 13 birdies and 37 pars.
Lizzie Neale shot the lowest round of the 'Jacks today with a bogey-free 65 (-7). Her seven birdies were made on holes five, six, nine, 10, 11, 13, and 16. She moved up seven spots on the leaderboard to finish fifth place with a -11 total. Neale finished tied for second in par-three scoring with a 2.75 average (-3), and tied seventh in par-fives with an average of 4.58 (-5). For the tournament, she had 14 birdies and 37 pars.
Sumin Kang beat her career low for the third day in a row, today shooting a 66 (-6). Kang birdied nine of her final 18 holes, including holes two, five, six, nine, 10, 11, 13, 16 and 18. Her round pushed her up the leaderboard by 18 places to finish in ninth with an overall score of -6. She ranked tied for fifth in par-four scoring with a 3.83 (-5) average and 13th in par-five scoring with a 4.67 (-4) average. In total, she made 13 birdies and 34 pars.
Frankie Dezis made the biggest move, climbing 22 spots up the board with a final round of 69 (-3), making her total +2. She also had a bogey-free round with birdies on the third, 10th, and 16th holes. Dezis was under par for the par-fives with an average of 4.92 (-1) and tallied nine birdies and 38 pars.
Ellena Slater also went under-par with a score of 70 (-2) to climb 15 spots and round out the tournament in 74th place with a total score of +10. Slater birdied holes two, eight, nine, and 12. In total, Slater recorded eight birdies and 32 pars
Nina Lukyanenko, playing as an individual, finished the tournament with a round of 80 (+8) to finish in 86th place, with a final score of +14. She made birdies on the 12th and 17th holes. Overall she made eight birdies and 27 pars
"Honestly I had no idea what our score was, I knew two players were playing well. The rest of them I didn't really know until we finished and then I was like wow, I never thought 21-under-par was even a reality," Bedortha said. "I'm just in awe of how well they did and we have a great group of players. They are great representatives of the team and it has been a great finish to the fall season, and we are super excited for this team and how good we can be."
As a team, the Lumberjacks ranked fourth in par-three scoring with an average of 3.02 (+1). They ranked third in par-four scoring with an average of 3.99 (-1) and second in par-fives with a 4.72 average (-17). The 'Jacks were fifth in total birdied, tallying 57 for the tournament, and finished third in pars with 178 total.
The Lumberjacks finished 14 strokes behind the champions, San Francisco who went -15 for the day for a total team score of -41. The final stretch of the tournament was a tight race for second place between Northern Arizona and Fresno State. The Lumberjacks finished their final four holes six-under-par compared to Fresno who were even-par for their final four, leading the 'Jacks to advance five strokes lower.
The Clash at Boulder Creek concludes the NAU women's golf team's fall season and competition will resume in Spring, starting with the Mountain Classic Match Play on Feb. 10-12.
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NAU Individual Scores
4. Amy Hodgkins 67+71+67 = 205 (-12)
T5. Lizzie Neale 68+73+65 =206 (-11)
T9. Sumin Kang 73+71+67 =211 (-6)
T41. Frankie Dezis 74+75+69 =218 (+2)
T74. Ellena Slater 79+77+70 =226 (+10)
86. Nina Lukyanenko 75+75+80 =230 (+14)*
*Playing as an individual
Full Results
1. San Francisco -41
2. Northern Arizona -27
3. Fresno State -22
4. Boise State -18
5. Drake -9
T6. Washington State -8
T6. South Dakota State -8
8. UC Riverside -3
T9. Northern Colorado -2
T9. Tarleton State -2
11. Illinois State E
12. CSU Fullerton +1
13. Texas El Paso +7
14. CSU Bakersfield +14
15. UTRGV +23
16. Southern Utah +24
17. Incarnate Word +39
