Ava Merrill leads Dores at 1-over par
PALM DESERT, Calif. – Vanderbilt women’s golf started with a 10-over 294 in the opening round of the Alice and John Wallace Women’s Golf Classic at Monterrey Country Club on Saturday. The Commodores sit tied for fifth after 18 holes of play.
Ava Merrill led the Dores with a 1-over 72. She sits 11th on the individual leaderboard. Elizabeth Rudisill, Lynn Lim and Tillie Claggett all finished with 3-over rounds of 74 in their first circuit.
“I think today was a really good learning day for us,” head coach Greg Allen said. “I think we didn’t give this golf course enough respect. After the practice round yesterday, I think our expectations went up thinking this place was going to be a cupcake.
“It played a lot harder for us than we thought it would play, so hopefully we can make the adjustments needed and come out tomorrow and score much better. The greens are super firm and although we were coming in with shorter clubs, it’s tough to get the ball close. We’ll get it going.”
Angelina Tolentino finished at 4-over while Kathrn Ha, playing as an individual, shot a 5-over 76.
Second-ranked USC was the only team under par, building a commanding advantage with a 15-under round. The Commodores sit just four strokes back of second-place Long Beach State who finished 6-over in the opening trip around Monterrey Country Club.
Sunday’s second round will tee off in a shotgun start at 10 a.m. CT. The Commodores will play alongside UCLA and Eastern Michigan. Live scoring for the event can be found on SCOREBOARD.
2026 © Copyright Vanderbilt University
Privacy Policy / Terms and Conditions / DSAR Form
