By Ron Smith
October 12, 2022
(SOLVANG, Calif.) Westmont Women's Golf made a statement at the TMU Danish Classic, winning the two-day event that included a field of six teams.
 
"It feels great to get the tournament win," expressed Westmont head coach Josh Ault.
 
In the first round on Tuesday, Westmont posted a score of 314 to lead by nine strokes over #18 Menlo, who shot a 323, and 11 strokes over #25 Hope International, who notched a 325. Elizabeth Oloteo had the low round of the day for the Warriors with a 76 (+4) and was in second place on the individual leader board by two strokes. Mallory Hopper recorded a six-over 78.
 
"We were leading by nine strokes going into round two today," reported Ault. "Our women shot one stroke better as a team today (313), but Menlo played great and fought all the way back. We had been ahead the whole day, but Menlo tied it up. On the final hole, Liz had to make a two-footer to keep it tied and put us into the playoff."
 
Menlo shot a 304 in the second round to tie Westmont with a two-day total of 627. Hope International shaved 11 off of their first day total, posting a 314 and finishing 12 strokes behind the leaders. The Master's finished in fourth place with a score of 660 while William Jessup posted a 678 to finish fifth. Brescia (Ky.) finished sixth with a score of 692.
 
"In the playoff, all five women from the two teams go back to hole 18 and we take the best four of the five scores," explained Ault of the playoff procedure. "All five of our players hit the green in regulation. It was a clutch, convincing victory. They wanted it and they earned it. They were very excited and there were lots of smiles."
 
Westmont scored a 12 on the par-three 18 with four pars to win the playoff. Menlo had three bogeys and a par to total 15.
 
"Mallory Hopper played incredibly," noted Ault of the freshman who finished fourth with a two-day total of 152 (+8). "In the middle of her round today, she made three birdies in a row." She showed up to play and showed a lot of grit."
 
Hopper's three birdies in the second round came on the par-four 17th, the 18th and the par-five first holes after starting on hole 10.
 
"Liz Oloteo carried the team on her shoulders," noted Ault. "She was in second place the whole tournament, until the last three holes."
 
Oloteo posted a round of 78 in the second round to finish tied for sixth with a two-day score of 154. Serena Jonay Garcia shot two rounds of 79 for a total of 158 and finished tied for eighth. She recorded an eagle on hole number one.
"Serena provided senior leadership on the course and was clutch," praised Ault.
 
The Westmont men placed sixth out of eight in the tournament with a score of 599, just one stroke behind Bushnell (Ore.) and William Jessup who tied for fourth at 598. The Master's, ranked 19th, won the tournament with a score of 572, followed by Menlo (577) and Hope International (588).
 
"The two notable performers for today were Peyton Hendricks and Danny Manginelli," said Ault. "They both shot a one-under 71. It was Danny's first under-par tournament round. He bounced back after a tough first day, so that was really good for him."
 
Hendricks finished with a two-day total of 146 (+2) to tie for eighth place. Manginelli tied for 27th place with a total of 153 (+9).
 
"Brock Yurkovich played as an individual and ended up finishing 16th, which was our second best score," noted Ault. "In round one, he shot a 72, his best ever tournament round. It was awesome that he had a plus-four tournament score."
 
Yurkovich shot a 76 (+4) on day two to total 148.
 
The Warriors have one more event this fall before taking the winter break. On October 31 and November 1 Westmont will compete at the PCH Invitational hosted by Menlo at Quail Lodge in Carmel.