Michigan
50th VyStar Gators Invitational
Record-Breaking Win by Lau Lifts U-M to Share of VyStar Florida Invitational Title
3/6/2022 5:47:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Using a final round best 276 (-4), Michigan rallied and tied Florida for the VyStar Florida Invitational team title.
» Medalist Ashley Lau's program record 203 (-7) total gives her back-to-back wins to start the spring season.
» With Lau's final round career-low 66 (-4), U-M's 276 (-4) was U-M's second lowest all-time team total.
» The Wolverines have now posted two team titles and two runner-up finishes in six season events.
Site: Gainesville, Fla.
Course: Mark Bostick Golf Course (Par 70, 6,002 yards)
Tournament: 50th VyStar Florida Invitational
U-M Team Standing: Tie-1st Place of 15 Teams (287-288-276/851, +11)
Top U-M Individual: Ashley Lau, 1st (67-70-66/203, -7)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., March 14-15 -- at Briar's Creek Invitational (John's Island, S.C.)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Led by a career performance and second-straight medalist honor for senior Ashley Lau, the 10th-ranked University of Michigan women's golf team rallied with a final-round 276 (-4) on Sunday (March 6) to jump four spots and tie with host Florida for team title honors at the 50th VyStar Florida Invitational played at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
"We had a great learning experience at Tulane trying to chase down the leaders and I'm so proud of the way they battled today," said U-M assistant coach AJ Newell. "We knew we were capable of playing great. We've been practicing hard all week and to see it finally come together was very special."
"Ashley (Lau) continues her run of great golf and I'm so happy for her. She's having fun and that really shines through in her play. Hailey's (Borja) final round capped off a great week for her. She built momentum and battled through a long day yesterday. I'm happy to see her finish on such a high note."
After setting her career-best with a 67 (-3) in her first round, Lau used a new career-low 66 (-4) in the final round to record her first sub-par 54-hole tournament total of 203 (-7) -- lowering the school record by two shots (205, -11 by Grace Choi and Catherine Peters at the 2015 Las Vegas Showdown). The individual title is Lau's second-straight win after tying for medalist honors at the Tulane Classic. Overall it is his her third career individual win.
"Going into the final round, I just stuck to my game plan and really just tried to enjoy being in the sun," said Lau. "I didn't think much about scores because I wanted to enjoy playing out on the golf course. Team-wise, I am really proud of the girls. We told ourselves that we would just go out today and play golf. We did that today and that just shows our resilience. Nothing more than love for my girls."
With Lau's performance, the Wolverines rallied in the final round, posting a 276 (-4) which marked U-M's second-lowest team tally in program history. With an 851 total (287-288-276), U-M shared the team title with host Florida. Only adding to the record-breaking weekend, the Wolverines' 851 total is the second-lowest 54-hole total all-time.
U-M's team win is the second this season after starting off the season winning the Wolverines Invitational in record-breaking fashion. So far, the Maize and Blue have two team titles and two runner-up finishes in six events this year.
Junior Hailey Borja helped the closing rally with her sixth sub-par round of the season at 69 (-1). With that in tow, she tallied a 214 (74-71-69) total to finish tied for 14th -- her fifth top 15 finish of the year. She has not finished out of the top 25 all season long.
Following Borja's lead, junior Anika Dy posted a final round 69 (-1) as well, securing a career-low as well as her first career sub-70 round at U-M. With a 219 (73-77-69) she rebounded to tie for 33rd along with sophomore Monet Chun (73-71-75/219). After opening with a pair of 76s, senior Ashley Kim posted a 72 in the final round to tie for 50th at 224.
The Wolverines will make a return trip the Briar's Creek Invitational, Monday and Tuesday (March 14-15). The two-day, 54-hole event hosted by the College of Charleston will be played at the Golf Club at Briar's Creek in John's Island, S.C. Last year, the Wolverines finished fifth (890) in the 18 team field.
Final Team Standings
1. MICHIGAN 287-288-276 = 851 (+11)
Florida 285-285-281 = 851
3. Oklahoma State 289-274-291 = 854
4. Mississippi State 286-286-287 = 859
5. Michigan State 295-284-283 = 862
6. Ole Miss 285-285-294 = 864
7. Campbell 290-293-286 = 869
8. UCF 293-291-287 = 871
9. Denver 291-291-290 = 872
10. N.C. State 298-290-291 = 879
Maryland 287-295-297 = 879
12. Tennessee 300-294-295 = 889
13. East Tennessee State 289-300-301 = 890
14. Indiana 308-299-296 = 903
15. Florida International 313-302-310 = 925
Top Individuals
1. Ashley Lau, U-M 67-70-66 = 203 (-7)
2. Han-Hsuan Yu, Oklahoma State 69-66-69 = 204
3. Anna Zanusso, Denver 71-68-71 = 210
4. Annabell Fuller, Florida 71-72-69 = 212
Emily Hawkins, Campbell 68-75-69 = 212
Marina Escobar Domingo, Florida 73-71-68 = 212
Andrea Lignell, Ole Miss 69-70-73 = 212
Jenny Kim, Florida 69-71-72 = 212*
Valery Plata, Michigan State 72-69-71 = 212
Hannah Levi, Mississippi State 71-70-71 = 212
Julia Lopez, Ramirez Mississippi State 72-71-69 = 212
Other Michigan Individuals
T14. Hailey Borja 74-71-69 = 214 T33. Monet Chun 73-71-75 = 219 T33. Anika Dy 73-77-69 = 219 T50. Ashley Kim 76-76-72 = 224
* playing as individual
Players Mentioned
