HUSKY GOLF SEASON UPDATE

UW women battle with youngteam at Pac-12 Championship

BY BOB SHERWIN • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE

Washington Huskies women’s golf team, in contention after the first two days of the Pac-12 Championship at the Eugene (Ore.) Country Club in mid-April, might have fallen victim to its youth movement on the final day, finishing eighth.

The Huskies, with five freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and just one senior — one of the youngest teams ever to tee up at UW — had been sitting in third place, just one stroke behind Arizona and Oregon after two days. But they tumbled to a combined 312 over par on day three to finish 29-over par at 893 for the three-day event, played in rainy, cold and windy conditions.

UW sophomore Stefanie Deng had the highest finish for the Huskies, in a tie for ninth. Host Oregon won the championship as Duck Hsin-Yu Lu won individual honors at 6-under par.

“I was super proud of the team this week,” said Mary Lou Mulfur, in her 38th season as the UW head coach. “Even though we had a rough (third day), our team got better this week. They have started to embrace the way we do things, and I am proud of the progress we made this week.”

That’s a welcoming sign as the Huskies, with some strong performances this season (second at the Chambers Bay Invitational; second at the Gunrock Invitational; third at the Juli Inkster Invitational) may be selected to play in the NCAAs. The Regionals begin May 9 with the NCAA Championship May 20-25 in Scottsdale. Mulfur’s teams have qualified for the Regional in 27 of the past 29 years.

Some Huskies also have an eye on qualifying for the USGA Women’s Amateur Aug. 8-14 at Chambers Bay. It features the top 144 women in the world.

Stefanie Deng

Stefanie Deng

Mary Lou Mulflur