The third annual Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic saw low opening scores, with 100 players breaking par on the day. Kate Smith-Straw recorded the best score of her Epson Tour career in the morning round and currently leads by one stroke after 18 holes over two-time Epson Tour winner Jenny Bay and Baylor University graduate Amy Lee.
Smith-Straw began the tournament on the back nine, taking advantage of the easier holes early on that side. She started her day with a par on the 10th hole, then reeled off four straight birdies before getting her second par of the day on the 15th hole. The 25-year-old followed up with consecutive birdies on the 16th and 17th holes and a par on the 18th to finish the first nine holes with a 6-under 30.
The final nine holes started well, with Smith-Straw scoring three birdies in the first five holes. His only bogey of the day came on the sixth hole, but Smith-Straw quickly bounced back with a birdie on the seventh hole to finish at nine under par. The Minnesota native, looking to win his first Oregon tournament, finished with two pars.
“I feel good. I feel like everything is in the right place,” Smith-Straw said. “I just have to hit all the par 5s. They’re all attackable. And then hopefully I can get a few more birdies on the rest of the course. The pins weren’t too bad today. I just started off well. I think this is my worst round on the Epson Tour. So it was a great day and I enjoyed every moment of it.”
Jenny Bay and Amy Lee both finished at eight under par, with Bay finishing bogey-free through 18 holes. Bay, like Smith-Straw, was in the morning session and started the tournament on the back nine. Bay played a solid first nine holes, scoring three birdies before heading into the front nine. The 22-year-old then played a masterful final nine holes, scoring four birdies in her first five holes. She didn’t make any mistakes after that, adding two more birdies for a round of 64.
“I haven’t played this well in the first round in a while, so I definitely need to step it up over the next few days,” Bey explained. “I’m going to try to make as few changes as possible, but if I were to change anything, maybe I’d tighten up my short game a little bit. Other than that, I just want to stay in the moment.”
Meanwhile, Lee’s performance dipped during the afternoon round, recording the lowest score of the day. Lee was the only player to tie Smith-Straw at nine under par until he dropped a stroke on the 17th hole. Before his bogey, Lee had seven birdies and an eagle for a nine-under 16. Par fives were Lee’s forte in the first round, and he played all four of them in four under par.
About the Leader
Kate Smith-Straw shot a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic to stay in the lead.
Smith-Straw had 10 birdies and one bogey in the first round. She shot a 6-under 30 through her first nine holes. The 9-under round is her lowest score on the Epson Tour. The Minnesota native has made the cut in eight of 13 starts this season. She has made the cut in her past five starts. Her best finish this season was at the Twin Bridges Championship (T6). The 25-year-old has just one round over par in her past 15 starts.
What you need to know
Jenny Bay shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 in the first round.
Bay is a two-time winner on the Epson Tour, winning back-to-back tournaments in his rookie season in 2023. He has three top-10 finishes this year, with his best finish being fourth at the Natural Charity Classic in Florida. His opening-round 8-under 64 was his best score of the season by three strokes.
Anna Bellak won the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic with a bogey-free 6-under 66 on the opening day.
Berac was the 2020 Epson Tour Player of the Year. He will represent Slovenia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old Berac has qualified in every tournament he has played this season. His best result was a runner-up finish at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. Berac won the 2020 Carolina Golf Classic on the Epson Tour.
Quick Quote
Jennifer Rosenberg (-7, T4) had this to say about what this week means for the season:
“This is really important. It kind of determines whether I get to qualify next week or not. I tried not to put too much pressure on myself and just stayed calm and collected. I played really consistent today and made some putts, which was really good. Hopefully I can gain some momentum going into tomorrow and finish off a good tournament.”
On Gabriela Zeng’s (-7, T4) 7-under opening round:
“It started out pretty calm. I was literally limping out like crazy, one, two, three. I limp out too many times. I had at least four or five today, including my only bogey on the 12th hole. I think the first putt I rolled was for an eagle on a par-5, which was a really nice bonus. Then my line started to get a little better and I started to get some speed.”
Lauren Stephenson (-6, T8) finished on a strong note after her last Epson Tour victory.
“It was interesting to have a couple of weeks off because I played in Portland (LPGA) and I played horrible, so it was a great re-evaluation for me. I met with my coach and I knew I had a lot to work on with my golf game. It was nice to have a good reset after enjoying the win. I know what I’ve been working on the last few weeks will pay off down the stretch.”
