Smith Surges to Sixth at Bruin Wave

Somis, Calif. – Kate Smith mounted a furious charge over the final nine holes to take sixth individually and lead the Nebraska women’s golf team to a tie for seventh at the 15-team Bruin Wave Invitational on Wednesday.

In challenging scoring conditions again that included cool temperatures, rain and wind on the 6,273-yard, par-72 layout at The Saticoy Club, Smith birdied the final three holes (No. 7, 8, 9) to finish with a 33 over the final nine holes. Smith’s impressive finish came after struggling through the first nine holes of the day, especially back-to-back double bogeys on No. 15 and 16, before a bogey on No. 18. She sat at 42 (+6) through nine holes and needed a major rally on an unforgiving course.

“Kate’s birdie, birdie, birdie finish was impressive,” Nebraska Coach Lisa Johnson said. “Given both the degree of difficulty of the course and the elements, we are proud of how hard we competed against such strong programs in the tournament field. Today brought cold, wet and windy conditions. Our team battled the elements like champs and shot our best round.”

With Smith leading the way, Nebraska closed the 54-hole tournament with a 310 in the final round. The Huskers moved up one spot into a tie for seventh with perennial power Washington and Oregon State, ending the tournament at 947.

Smith, who finished with a three-round score of 227 (78-74-75), matched the second-best score of the day with her 75. No other golfer shot better than a 74 in the final round. Smith closed seven shots back of individual champion Linn Grant from Arizona State (220), who entered the tournament ranked No. 7 nationally. Northwestern’s Irene Kim and Oregon’s Ching-Tzu Chen tied for second at 221, while UCLA’s Emma Spitz, who entered the tournament ranked No. 21 in the nation, took fourth at 223. Smith finished well ahead of nine other golfers in the field who entered the tournament ranked among the top 100 players in the country by GolfStat.

While Smith’s late charge sparked Nebraska, she wasn’t the only Husker to put together a big finish. Michaela Vavrova, a freshman from Bojnice, Slovakia, carded birdies on her 16th and 17th holes (No. 7 and 8) to play her final nine holes at even par. Vavrova’s final-round 77 was Nebraska’s second-best round of the day and her best round of the tournament.

Graduate transfer Alice Duan notched Nebraska’s third-best score of the day with a 78 to close the tournament as the No. 2 Husker in a tie for 31st at 239 in the 82-golfer field.

Junior Megan Whittaker produced Nebraska’s fourth counting score of the round with an 80 to finish fourth among the Huskers in the tournament in a tie for 45th at 244. Vavrova finished 49th (245) just one stroke behind Whittaker, while freshman Lindsey Thiele rounded out the Husker contingent in a tie for 67th (252).

No. 9 Arizona State took the team title with a score of 915, including a final-round 305. No. 16 Northwestern finished 14 strokes behind the Sun Devils in second at 929, including a 308 over the final 18 holes. Oregon took third at 931, including a final-round 316, while the co-hosts from Pepperdine climbed to fourth at 935 with a final-round 309. New Mexico (938) and the co-hosts from UCLA (939) were the only other teams to finish in front of the Huskers in the talent-laden field. 

Nebraska returns to action at the Arizona Wildcats Invitational, March 8-9 at the Sewalio Golf Club in Tucson.

Bruin Wave Invitational

Somis, Calif. (The Saticoy Club)

Par 72, 6,273 Yards

March 1-3, 2021

Final Team Results

1. #9 Arizona State – 309-301-305=915

2. #16 Northwestern – 315-306-308=929

3. #28 Oregon – 306-309-316=931

4. Pepperdine – 319-307-309-935

5. #63 New Mexico – 313-303-322=938

6. #30 UCLA – 313-311-315=939

T7. #78 Nebraska – 318-319-310=947

T7. #74 Oregon State – 322-309-316=947

T7. #65 Washington – 325-314-308=947

10. New Mexico State – 317-321-319=957

11. #34 San Diego State – 326-320-313=959

13. Colorado State – 326-323-325=974

12. #98 Cal State Fullerton – 320-328-332=980

14. #58 Cal Poly – 326-336-320=982

15. Long Beach State – 326-337-335=998

Individual Leaderboard

1. #7 Linn Grant, Arizona State – 73-70-77=220 (+4)

T2. #19 Irene Kim, Northwestern – 73-74-74=221 (+5)

T2. Ching-Tzu Chen, Oregon – 72-73-76=221 (+5)

4. #21 Emma Spitz, UCLA – 74-72-77=223 (+7)

5. Reese Guzman, Pepperdine – 76-73-77=226 (+10)

6. #48 Kate Smith, Nebraska – 78-74-75=227 (+11)

T7. Alessandra Fanali, Arizona State – 76-78-76=230 (+14)

T7. Hsin Yu-Lu, Oregon – 78-73-79=230 (+14)

T9. Briana Chacon, Oregon – 72-80-79=231 (+15)

T9. Alison Gastelum, New Mexico State – 76-75-80=231 (+15)

T9. #92 Napat Lertsadwattana, New Mexico – 75-73-83=231 (+15)

Nebraska Individuals

6. Kate Smith – 78-74-75=227 (+11)

T31. Alice Duan – 79-82-78=239 (+23)

T45. Megan Whittaker – 77-87-80=244 (+28)

49. Michaela Vavrova – 84-84-77=245 (+29)

T67. Lindsey Thiele – 89-79-84=252 (+36)