By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
Baylor women’s golf rose one spot and finished in 12th place on the last day of the Tar Heel Invite on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Bears wrapped up the two-day event with a 35-over 899 team score.
The result came after Baylor recorded an 8-over 296, its lowest round of the tournament, on Tuesday. 2023 All-Americans senior Rosie Belsham and junior Sera Hasegawa finished Tuesday with team-best 1-over 73s. The Bears’ third returning All-American, sophomore Silje Ohma, carded the lowest overall score on the team with a 4-over 220, which put her in a tie for 20th.
Head coach Jay Goble said the Bears put together a better showing on Tuesday, and they’ll continue to get better throughout the fall.
“I was proud to see us fight in that final round and pick up a spot, while some individuals moved up,” Goble said. “I expect that we’ll get back home and get to work to make sure we close the semester with a strong showing in Hawaii in a few weeks.”
The Florida Gators, led by senior Maisie Filler’s 13-under 203, walked away with the team title thanks to a collective 16-under 848. Filler also won the individual championship.
Belsham closed out the tournament with an 11-over 227 after fighting to stay at par on Tuesday. She was bogey-free through the first nine, but a couple of bogeys at Nos. 11 and 14 dropped her back over par, tying her for 49th with a 1-over 73 for the round.
Hasegawa mirrored Belsham with a 1-over 73 on Tuesday, which tied the junior’s best score of the tournament. Hasegawa had a par streak going until a bogey at No. 1. Nos. 8 and 9 gave Hasegawa trouble for the second-straight day, as she tallied a bogey and triple bogey, respectively, to offset two birdies at Nos. 6 and 7. The Gifu, Japan native closed out her day with a birdie at No. 15 to finish in 44th place. Hasegawa tied for the fifth-most birdies in the field this week with 12. She also tied for the third-best par-5 scoring average (4.67).
Ohma suffered a pair of bogeys as well as a double bogey at No. 15 before chipping away to get back to even. Three birdies at Nos. 4, 10 and 13 put her back at bay, but a bogey on No. 5 led to her ending the day with a 2-over 74. Ohma secured her first top-25 finish of the season.
Freshman Ashleen Kaur closed out her day 4-over 76 and 13-over 229 overall. Kaur hovered around par for most of the afternoon until she recorded a seven at No. 9. A birdie at No. 10, a bogey at No. 12 and a double bogey at No. 16 finished the Houston native’s day in a tie for 60th place.
Senior Britta Snyder matched her best round of the week with a 4-over 76. Snyder stayed even through four holes thanks to a birdie at No. 2, but a pair of bogeys and double bogeys dropped her to 6-over. The Ames, Iowa native finished Tuesday with birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 to close out the tournament in 69th place with a 17-over 233.
The Bears have one more tournament this fall, as they’ll take part in the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Hawaii from Oct. 23-25. Baylor secured its 39th team title in the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in 2021, dominating the field with a 30-shot victory.
