WG: Bears Two Shots Out of Fifth Place

Monday, May 11

Waco, Texas

Baylor

NCAA Regional

WG: Bears Two Shots Out of Fifth Place

5/11/2026 4:34:00 PM | Women's Golf

Li records four birdies, tied for 12th at 1-over 71 in NCAA Waco Regional

NCAA WACO REGION DAY 1 RESULTS

WACO, Texas – On a day when the average score was more than three strokes over par, the Baylor women finished the opening round of the NCAA Waco Regional in seventh place at 8-over 288 on Monday, just two shots out of the fifth qualifying spot.

Junior transfer Yurang Li from Illinois had a share of the lead at 3-under through the first five holes, but had a double-bogey on her second nine and is tied for 12^th at 1-over 71.

SMU is the only team in the 12-team field to shoot under par, taking the 18-hole lead at 3-under 277. Fourth-ranked Texas A&M and No. 8 Oregon are tied for second at even-par 280, followed by No. 16 Tennessee (2-over, 282), Tulsa (6-over, 286), LSU (7-over 287) and Baylor (8-over 288).

"It wasn't exactly what we wanted for today," Baylor coach Jay Goble said. "I think we hit a few shots that are not very typical of our team. And I think we struggled, actually, to make putts out here, which is interesting, because we do play and putt out here every day. The one thing I just told my team is that we are going to putt better tomorrow. And we are going to have lots of patience, because this is a tough time of year."

After her hot start, Li had three bogeys and double-bogeyed the par-4 6^th hole, sandwiching in a birdie at No. 4. She sits five shots behind first-round leaders Vanessa Borovilos of Texas A&M, Oregon's Kiara Romero and Kyra Van Kan of Tennessee at 4-under 66.

Senior Bridget Boczar and junior transfer Charlotte Brook are tied for 21^st at 2-over 72, with senior Silje Ohma and sophomore Malena Castro another shot back and tied for 29^th at 3-over 73.

Brook was higher up the leader board at 1-under through the first 10 holes before taking bogeys at Nos. 2, 4 and 6.

"I would say that she is a gamer," Goble said of Brook. "She does better when the competition is high and the stakes are a little higher, which is cool. Again, I just think we were a little flat today. But that doesn't mean that we can't come out here the next two days and play great."

On the flip side, Castro survived a shaky start that saw her go 4-over through the first three holes before shooting 1-under over the last 15 holes. She hit a tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole that landed over the green but had enough back spin to leave it maybe two feet away from the hole for her birdie.

"She hit two bad shots today, and they just happened to be on the first two holes," Goble said of Castro. "She hit her second shot out of bounds on 10, and it was like one foot out of bounds. And then, she hit her drive in the water on 11. Right off the bat, she kind of put herself behind the 8-ball a little bit. But the rest of the day, she played solid."

Paired with Tarleton State and Colorado, Baylor will go off the No. 1 tee for Tuesday's second round with tee times starting at 8:50 a.m.

Live scoring is available at NCAA Waco Regional, with Babygrande providing live streaming.

For the latest news on the Baylor women's golf team, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWGolf.

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