Michigan
NCAA Finals, Stroke Play
Career-Low 68 Boosts Borja to Program-Best NCAA Finish with Tie for Fifth
5/24/2021 9:42:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Using a career-low 68 (-4) in the final round, Hailey Borja posted a 286 (-2) 72-hole NCAA Final total and tied for fifth.
» Borja recorded four birdies and 14 pars en route to tying U-M's lowest single round in the NCAA postseason.
» Borja's tie for fifth is the best individual NCAA finish in program history, and she set a new U-M NCAA 72-hole record by five strokes.
Site: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Course: Grayhawk Golf Club (par 72, 6,384 yards)
Tournament: NCAA Finals (Day 4 of 4)
Top U-M Individual: Hailey Borja, tie-5th (75-71-72-68/286, -2)
Next U-M Event: Season completed
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- University of Michigan women's golf sophomore Hailey Borja fired a career-low, bogey-free 68 (-4) today (Monday, May 24) in the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Finals and finished in tie for fifth with a 286 72-hole total (-2) at Grayhawk Golf Club.
Borja tied the low round of the day -- one of five golfers to card a final-round 68 -- and was one of eight golfers to crack 70. She set a new U-M NCAA 72-hole best individual finish, topping Bess Bowers' tie for 13th at the 2002 NCAA Finals.
"Today I was just striking the ball really well and hitting putts on my line," said Borja. "My teammates following and cheering me on the whole way was super uplifting for me and kept me pumped up. Having Mandi (Unruh) walking with me all day really kept me calm, and she reminded me to take one shot at a time and stay patient. It was a super amazing day. This is what I envisioned individually from this season! I cannot wait for my summer tournament schedule and coming back for the fall."
"What an amazing day!" said U-M head coach Jan Dowling. "Hailey just played lights out. A bogey-free round is impressive anywhere, but out here on this big stage on this course setup is just pure class. Her putting was on, her ball-striking was pure. Everything was just on fire. She is helping re-write the history books for Michigan women's golf. We are so very proud of her."
With her teammates cheering her on for the final stroke-play round after the U-M team missed the 54-hole cut Sunday, Borja drained a 15-foot birdie putt on her opening hole to set the stage for her career-best day. Two holes later she knocked her approach on the par-4 third hole to three feet and tapped in for a second birdie in her first three holes.
As Borja approached the turn, she added a third front-side birdie, draining a 12-footer on the par-3 eighth hole to send her to the back nine at three-under. After sticking her wedge on the par-4 12th hole to six feet, Borja added a fourth and final birdie of the round before closing with six consecutive pars to secure the second top-five finish of her career.
Her four-under 68 topped her prior best of 69 (-3), which she had posted on three occasions, and equaled the program's lowest NCAA single round set by Elodie Van Dievoet at the 2017 NCAA Finals (68, -4). In addition, Borja's 286 (-2) total broke Bowers' 19-year-old NCAA program record by five shots (291 at the 2002 Finals).
Throughout her finals run, Borja recorded 46 pars, 13 birdies and 11 bogeys. After playing her opening nine holes four over par -- with four of her 11 bogeys -- she went six under over her final 63 holes. Her 72-hole total gave her the highest finish by an individual not on an advancing team.
As a team, Michigan was 20th with a 903 54-hole NCAA Finals total. The Wolverines posted top-five team finishes in all five regular-season events and extended that streak to seven with the program's top finish (tie for second) at the Big Ten Championships and a tie for fifth at the NCAA Columbus Regional to earn the program's fourth trip to the NCAA Finals.
The Maize and Blue will return its entire lineup next season.
Final Individual Leaders
1. Rachel Heck, Stanford 69-67-70-74 = 280 (-8)
2. Emma Spitz, UCLA 72-70-71-68 = 281
3. Angelina Ye, Stanford 77-69-65-71 = 282
4. Ashley Menne, Arizona State 76-72-65-72 = 285
5. HAILEY BORJA, U-M 75-71-72-68 = 286*
Julia Johnson, Ole Miss 73-71-71-71 = 286
Phoebe Brinker, Duke 73-70-72-71 = 286
Gina Kim, Duke 74-67-72-73 = 286
9. Beatrice Wallin, Florida State 73-71-76-68 = 288
Anna Zanusso, Denver 76-72-70-70 = 288*
Beth Lillie, Virginia 72-74-72-70 = 288*
* played as individual
Team Standings
Top eight qualified for match play
1. Stanford 291-278-277-296 = 1142 (-10)
2. Duke 292-281-293-289 = 1155
3. Oklahoma State 297-289-282-289 = 1157
4. Ole Miss 296-291-288-284 = 1159
5. Texas 289-288-293-291 = 1161
6. Auburn 305-299-288-278 = 1170
7. Arizona 292-298-292-291 = 1173
Arizona State 300-291-286-296 = 1173
9. Florida State 298-285-298-293 = 1174
LSU 296-292-296-290 = 1174
11. Oregon 290-300-293-292 = 1175
12. Wake Forest 292-293-295-298 = 1178
13. South Carolina 312-288-287-293 = 1180
14. Baylor 308-293-290-291 = 1182
15. UCLA 302-293-300-294 = 1189
Players Mentioned
