CORINTH, Texas — Daniela Abonce and Sydney Bisgrove are in the top 12 and UTSA has a share of eighth place after the opening day of the Sam Golden Invitational, which teed off Monday at Oakmont Country Club (par 72/6,343 yards).
On the strength of a 7-under-par 65 in the second round, Abonce is part of a four-way tie for eighth place at 5-under 139 through 36 holes, while Bisgrove turned in a collegiate career-best 69 in the first round en route to a 4-under 140, good for a share of 12th.
The Roadrunners are deadlocked with Texas Tech for eighth place at 11-under 565, the second-best 36-hole team total in program history behind their 557 recorded two years ago at this same event. UTSA opened the 54-hole event with a 1-under 287 and then posted a 10-under 278 in the afternoon round, as all four counting scores were in the red. The 10-under 278 stands as the fourth-best round versus par and the fifth-best team score in school history.
Abonce bounced back from a 2-over 74 in the morning by matching her collegiate career low of 7-under 65 in round two. The senior from Veracruz, Mexico, also fired a 65 at the 2024 Chevron Collegiate and she now owns two of the top four scores in UTSA history behind only Camryn Carreon’s 64 posted in October 2023.
Abonce’s career round featured five birdies and an eagle. She circled her number on the 352-yard, par-4 second hole before making three on the 508-yard, par-5 third to get to 3-under par. She added her third birdie of the round on No. 7 en route to a 4-under 32 on the front. The 2024 American Conference medalist had back-to-back birdies on Nos. 12-13 and then tacked on her fifth with a three on the 395-yard 16th. Her bogey-free scorecard helped her jump 39 places into eighth, one shot out of a tie for fifth.
Bisgrove opened her sophomore season with her best round as a Roadrunner, a 3-under 69 that was highlighted by four birdies. The Calgary, Alberta, native started the day with a birdie on the 362-yard, par-4 first and then countered a bogey on the third with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11-12 to get to 2-under par. She then moved to 3-under with three on the 16th.
In the afternoon, Bisgrove used 15 pars and a pair of birdies to turn in a 1-under 71. She circled her number on the 508-yard, par-5 third and on No. 16 for the second time today.
Lauren Rios and Kayla Black are also in the red at 1-under 143, part of a tie for 35th place.
Playing near her hometown of Coppell, Rios opened the day with an even-par 72 that included a pair of birdies. She added four more birdies in the afternoon en route to posting a 1-under 71.
Making her UTSA debut, Black also registered a 72 in the morning round on the strength of four birdies over a six-hole stretch on the back nine, including three in a row on Nos. 13-15. A native of Mississauga, Ontario, she repeated that feat with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 3-5 to help her turn in a 1-under 71 in the second round.
Victoria Schuldt closes out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 69th after tallying a 74-77—151 that included seven birdies, six coming in the first round.
UTSA is four shots ahead of Middle Tennessee and only three strokes out of the top five in the 13-team field led by Missouri (-24). Louisville is in second (-18) and Nebraska and Tulsa are knotted for third (-16).
The final round is set for an 8 a.m. shotgun start on Tuesday.
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