Friday, May 22
Carlsbad, Calif.
Baylor
vs
NCAA Championship
WG: Li Cards Six Birdies in 3-under 69 at NCAA Championship
5/22/2026 5:15:00 PM | Women's Golf
Bears finish 5th among early wave at 1-over-par 289 in opening round
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP DAY 1 RESULTS
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Echoing the words of her coach, Baylor junior transfer Yurang Li knew the Bears couldn't "win or make match play" in Friday's opening round of the NCAA Championship.
But the California native certainly did her part, carding six birdies in a round of 3-under-par 69 that was second-best among the early wave of players at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.
As a team, the Bears shot 1-over 289 on the challenging par-72 North Course layout and were tied for fifth among the morning groupings and positioned to be in the top 15 overall in the 30-team tournament that is whittled to the top 15 after Sunday's third round.
"I'm really proud of my girls," said Li, a transfer from Illinois who hails from Fullerton, Calif., about an hour away from La Costa. "We fought, and it's not easy, but we did our best. You can't really win or make match play on the first day. But if you have a bad round, you can obviously already be out of it. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the teams finish up."
Continuing a trend that saw her make her first-career hole-in-one last week in the NCAA Waco Regional at Ridgewood Country Club, Li is tied for the best par-3 scoring at 2-under and also shares the lead for the most birdies in the field of 156 players with six.
"Coming into this event, I had a really good feeling that Yurang was going to play well because of two reasons," Baylor coach Jay Goble said. "Number one is, she told us the main reason she came to Baylor was to get in the national championship. But the other reason is she's home, she's from an hour up the road. So, she grew up playing golf courses like this. This feels comfortable for her."
Li had a share of the lead at 4-under through the first 14 holes before taking a double-bogey 6 on the par-4, 312-yard 15th, when a "plugged" bunker shot came within a foot of rolling into the water for a penalty stroke. She called it a "pretty lucky double bogey."
"I really didn't have any expectations today," Li said. "I'm just happy to be in my home state and playing in front of my parents and just having a good time. . . . I think at the end of the day, we're all just out here playing one shot at a time. And I should focus more on that rather than what's up there on the leaderboard."
Junior transfer Charlotte Brook put together her third-straight round of par or better, recording five birdies in an even-par round of 72.
"I can't say enough about her," Goble said of Brook. "She's been telling me all year, she's a gamer and she just needs to be in the lineup. Obviously, that was a true statement.
"I also think (assistant coach Maddie Luitwieler-Caruana) has helped her out a lot. Charlotte can get distracted sometimes . . . and I think Maddie does a really good job of keeping her in the present, making sure she's hitting the shot ahead of her and not dwelling on something that happened two or three holes ago."
After a rough start, Silje Ohma birdied two of her last three holes and made a nice par save on the last hole to shoot 2-over 74, while fellow senior Bridget Boczar rolled in about a 12-foot birdie putt out of the short fringe at 18 to match that score and give the Bears some momentum going into Saturday's second round.
"That was great for the whole team to see her make that putt," Goble said. "For her to be in front of her teammates and the 50 to 60 people out there watching everyone finish, those give everybody a good feeling. But for Bridget, that really helps her out a lot, because I'm sure she was down on herself from how she played No. 14 (a double bogey). For her to finish the last four holes under-par just shows how great of a player she is."
Sophomore Malena Castro had the lone non-counting score, shooting 3-over 75 with two birdies and five bogeys.
Paired with Ohio State and Eastern Michigan for the second day in a row, the Bears will go off the No. 10 on Saturday with tee times starting at 12:12 p.m. PT (2:12 p.m. central).
For the latest news on the Baylor women's golf team, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWGolf.
- BaylorBears.com -
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Echoing the words of her coach, Baylor junior transfer Yurang Li knew the Bears couldn't "win or make match play" in Friday's opening round of the NCAA Championship.
But the California native certainly did her part, carding six birdies in a round of 3-under-par 69 that was second-best among the early wave of players at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.
As a team, the Bears shot 1-over 289 on the challenging par-72 North Course layout and were tied for fifth among the morning groupings and positioned to be in the top 15 overall in the 30-team tournament that is whittled to the top 15 after Sunday's third round.
"I'm really proud of my girls," said Li, a transfer from Illinois who hails from Fullerton, Calif., about an hour away from La Costa. "We fought, and it's not easy, but we did our best. You can't really win or make match play on the first day. But if you have a bad round, you can obviously already be out of it. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the teams finish up."
Continuing a trend that saw her make her first-career hole-in-one last week in the NCAA Waco Regional at Ridgewood Country Club, Li is tied for the best par-3 scoring at 2-under and also shares the lead for the most birdies in the field of 156 players with six.
"Coming into this event, I had a really good feeling that Yurang was going to play well because of two reasons," Baylor coach Jay Goble said. "Number one is, she told us the main reason she came to Baylor was to get in the national championship. But the other reason is she's home, she's from an hour up the road. So, she grew up playing golf courses like this. This feels comfortable for her."
Li had a share of the lead at 4-under through the first 14 holes before taking a double-bogey 6 on the par-4, 312-yard 15th, when a "plugged" bunker shot came within a foot of rolling into the water for a penalty stroke. She called it a "pretty lucky double bogey."
"I really didn't have any expectations today," Li said. "I'm just happy to be in my home state and playing in front of my parents and just having a good time. . . . I think at the end of the day, we're all just out here playing one shot at a time. And I should focus more on that rather than what's up there on the leaderboard."
Junior transfer Charlotte Brook put together her third-straight round of par or better, recording five birdies in an even-par round of 72.
"I can't say enough about her," Goble said of Brook. "She's been telling me all year, she's a gamer and she just needs to be in the lineup. Obviously, that was a true statement.
"I also think (assistant coach Maddie Luitwieler-Caruana) has helped her out a lot. Charlotte can get distracted sometimes . . . and I think Maddie does a really good job of keeping her in the present, making sure she's hitting the shot ahead of her and not dwelling on something that happened two or three holes ago."
After a rough start, Silje Ohma birdied two of her last three holes and made a nice par save on the last hole to shoot 2-over 74, while fellow senior Bridget Boczar rolled in about a 12-foot birdie putt out of the short fringe at 18 to match that score and give the Bears some momentum going into Saturday's second round.
"That was great for the whole team to see her make that putt," Goble said. "For her to be in front of her teammates and the 50 to 60 people out there watching everyone finish, those give everybody a good feeling. But for Bridget, that really helps her out a lot, because I'm sure she was down on herself from how she played No. 14 (a double bogey). For her to finish the last four holes under-par just shows how great of a player she is."
Sophomore Malena Castro had the lone non-counting score, shooting 3-over 75 with two birdies and five bogeys.
Paired with Ohio State and Eastern Michigan for the second day in a row, the Bears will go off the No. 10 on Saturday with tee times starting at 12:12 p.m. PT (2:12 p.m. central).
For the latest news on the Baylor women's golf team, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWGolf.
- BaylorBears.com -
Players Mentioned
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