Chen paces Cowgirls in first round at Regional Challenge
PALOS VERDES, Calif. – Oklahoma State’s Chih-Min Chen completed a near perfect back-9 to pace the No. 8 Cowgirl golf team in the opening round of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at the Palos Verdes Golf Club.
Chen carded a bogey-free back-9 with three birdies to finish her first round of the spring at 1-under 70. The junior is currently tied for 5th place on the leaderboard heading into Monday’s second round.
As a team, the Cowgirls posted a 23-over par 284 to enter the clubhouse in 17th place. It is OSU’s first tournament without Maddie McCrary, who earned a conditional card on the LPGA Tour in qualifying last fall. The NGRC is annually one of the toughest events on the calendar. Every team at the event except the host team, Ohio State, is ranked in the Golfweek top 50, including six other top-10 squads.
Arizona and Arizona State are tied atop the leaderboard at 1-over 285, while Sun Devil Olivia Mehaffey will enter Monday’s second round with the individual lead at 3-under 68.
Cowgirl senior Alexis Sadeghy posted a 7-over par 78 to tie her for 64th place. Closely behind Sadeghy is freshman Emma Whitaker, who was able to knock in a birdie in the first hole of her collegiate career. Whitaker finished her first round tied for 75th place by carding an 8-over par 79.
Cowgirl senior Kenzie Neisen landed tied for 81st on the leaderboard with a 9-over par, while freshman Stephanie Astrup posted a 10-over par and will head into the second round tied for 87th.
Team Leaderboard
T1. Arizona (+1) 285
T1. Arizona State (+1) 285
T3. Alabama (+8) 292
T3. UCLA (+8) 292
…
17. Oklahoma State (+23) 307
Individual Leaderboard
T1. Olivia Mehaffey, Arizona State (-3) 68
T2. Kaitlyn Papp, Texas (-2) 69
T2. Kristen Gillman, Alabama (-2) 69
T2. Gurleen Kaur, Baylor (-2) 69
Oklahoma State Golfers
T5. Chih-Min Chen (-1) 70
T64. Alexis Sadeghy (+7) 78
T75. Emma Whitaker (+8) 79
T81. Kenzie Neisen (+9) 80