USC
NCAA Championships First Round (Stroke Play)
Players Mentioned
Amelia Garvey's 74 Leads USC to Sixth After First Day of NCAA Championships
May 17, 2019 | Women's Golf, Features
Sophomore Amelia Garvey carded one of the top rounds of the day with a 1-over 74 to lead the top-ranked USC women's golf team in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Women's Golf Championships at the Blessings G.C. in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Trojans, a three-time national champion and seven-time winner this season, combined for a 14-over 306, good for sixth in the 24-team field after 18 holes and four out of first. Teams are jockeying for a top 15 finish after three rounds, needing a top 8 after four rounds to reach match play.
"We definitely were not sharp today as a group, but we hung tough and still put up a respectable number," USC head coach Justin Silverstein said. "We had to play holes 3 through 5 in the hardest wind of the day which made it increasingly difficult and we look forward to playing early tomorrow morning and would hope to see some better conditions."
Garvey, in her first competitive round since the Silverado Showdown and first postseason action since the 2018 NCAAs, used a pair of eagles and one birdie to sign for a 1-over on the challenging course, good for a tie for fifth, five off the lead.
Her first eagle came on the par 4 11th hole, her second hole of the day. After turning at par, she came back with a birdie on 3 and another eagle on the par 5 7th hole.
"It was pretty tough and the wind was hard to judge so having my assistant coach (Stewart Burke) with me all day was helpful," Garvey said. "Overall, I'm really happy with the way I hung in there and stayed patient."
Sophomore Alyaa Abdulghany put together a solid effort to tie for 27th at 4-over 77. She went out at 2-over thanks to birdies on 10 and 11. She came home at 2-over with one more birdie on 5.
Freshman Malia Nam, in her NCAA championships debut, is tied with Abdulghany. Nam had two birdies in her round.
Freshman Jennifer Chang shook off a rare 9 on the par 4 12th hole finish the rest of her round at par with a 5-over 78, tied for 40th.
Sophomore Gabriela Ruffels is tied for 81st with a 8-over 81.
USC will tee off of 1 beginning at 5:15am PT on Saturday.
