Welcome home
A pair of Aggie golfers relish a chance to play on UNM’s Championship Course
All things considered, the homecoming for New Mexico State golfers Dominique Galloway and Kristen Cline, as well their coach Jackie Booth – a former New Mexico coach – went about as well as expected.
Galloway, a freshman out of Cleveland High School and a three-time big-high school state champion, carded a 3-over 75 Monday. She was the top Aggie in the opening round of the NCAA Albuquerque Regional at the UNM Championship Course.
Cline, a senior out of Socorro who was three-time state champ in the small-school division, finished with a 4-over 76 on the 6,637-yard course that both players know well from the high school careers.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Cline said. “It’s nice to play possibly my last event close to home. I have family coming out. It’s nice to feel like I’m at home while I’m playing it. The last couple of holes when the wind picked up, it reminded me of the state championship my junior year. It was just ridiculous. It’s fun. It’s nice to be back here and playing. I’m familiar with the course and that helps.”
Laura Kowohl of North Carolina State holds the individual lead with a 3-under 69, followed by Pepperdine’s Tatiana Wijaya at 2-under 70.
Indeed, fellow Aggies Suthavee Chanachai and Valeria Macias each shot 78, leaving NMSU with a team score of 19-over 307, 20 strokes behind first-day leader Pepperdine. Topranked Stanford sits at 2-over 290. The top-six teams in each of the four regionals advance to the national championships May 19-24 in Sugar Grove, Ill.
“It’s every collegiate player’s dream to make it to the NCAAs,” Galloway said.
The Aggies will have pick up
the pace significantly to keep that dream, at least for this season as No. 9 Duke and Campbell are tied for sixth at 9-over 297.
“It’s like how I remembered it,” Galloway said of the course. “The last time I played it competitively was my freshman year of high school. I know this course. I’ve played it about 30 times. I know it. But it’s really fun and it’s challenging. The rough is thick and the greens are pretty fast. It’s a really good test of golf and I really like it.”
The course did not reciprocate, however, as Galloway left putts inches short on her final two holes.
“I had a couple of putts that didn’t go and couple of iron shots that were a little iffy. But other than that, I played pretty good,” she said. “It is frustrating but that’s golf. Sometimes you get lucky and putts go in and sometimes they don’t. I’ve gotten used to it. I used to get kind of frustrated when I didn’t make the putts that I need to but now I’m like, that’s college golf and it’s windy.”
Booth said given the swirling, breezy conditions, the Aggies survived well enough.
“Overall they played well,” she said. “There were a few holes that they had big numbers on and that’s something as team that we strive not to do. We want to come out with a bogey at the worst so we got a little greedy. We have two more days and we learn quick.”
Indeed, NMSU’s Camille Orito was particularly erratic, shooting a 3-over 7 on the par-4, 385-yard No. 3, then going 7-over 12 on the finishing par-5, 560-yarder.
And Booth vowed the Aggies will improve their showing on the course.
“I’ve always loved this golf course,” she said. “How can you not, with the views. It’s in perfect condition. Wind is something that is just a part of New Mexico. It does that in Las Cruces so we’re used to it.”