Vines Leads Cougars to Fourth-Place Finish

Day 1 Recap

YORBA LINDA -- Kelsey Vines shot a final-round 72, leading the BYU women's golf team to a fourth-place finish Tuesday at The Gold Rush in Yorba Linda, Calif.

After finishing the first two rounds in eighth place, the Cougars benefitted from an even-par 72 in round three by Vines and moved up four spots to capture their second-consecutive top-five finish dating back to fall competition.

"We struggled on the first day, but the girls came back for a very respectable finish," said BYU head coach Carrie Roberts. "The girls kept positive attitudes and improved on the final day."

Vines finished in sixth place overall, her second-consecutive top-10 individual finish on a challenging par-72 Yorba Linda Country Club Course.

"Kelsey played great on a very tough golf course," Roberts said.

Senior Jade Bollinger and junior Maggie Yuan shot rounds of 76 and 77 respectively on the final day, both tying for 22nd place.

Sophomore Amanda Keith shot a final-round 82 to tie for 46th place overall and freshman Annika Afoa finished seven strokes behind Keith to tie for 56th place. Senior Emily Copier, who competed as an individual, shot three-consecutive rounds of 79 to finish tied for 18th place overall.

The Cougars return to action Feb. 28 in the Bruin Wave Invitational in Santa Clarita, Calif. BYU is looking to improve on a 15th place finish in the tournament last spring. Follow first-round action live by visiting www.golfstat.com.

The Field - The 2011 Gold Rush by Goldsmith

1. San Diego State

2. Long Beach State

3. Portland State

4. BYU

5. New Mexico State

6. Gonzaga

7. CSU Northridge

8. San Francisco

9. Cal Poly

10. Colorado State

11. UC Riverside

12. CSU Fullerton

4 Brigham Young University

1st rd. 2nd rd. 3rd rd. total

6 Kelsey Vines 80 76 72 228

T22 Jade Bollinger 80 82 77 239

T22 Maggie Yuan 83 80 76 239

T46 Amanda Keith 81 84 82 247

T56 Annika Afoa 84 80 90 254

Team 324 318 307 642

T18 Emily Copier* 79 79 79 237

* competed as an individual