RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Shooting 68's on Wednesday, Harriet Lynch and Nicola Kaminski became Fresno State's first women's golfers to finish under par at a Mountain West Championship. Lynch finished the 54-hole event tied for third with a 4-under par 212 while Kaminski tied for ninth with a 2-under par 214 this week at the Dinah Shore Tournament Court at the Mission Hills Country Club.
Firing a 71 yesterday, Lynch birdied on two of her first five holes to move up from her starting position of seventh. The senior then dropped her score to 5 under through 14. Bogey free through 16 holes, Lynch took her only one of the round at No. 17 to finish the day at 4 under.
Beginning the day at 2 over, Kaminski knocked in four birdies during her final 10 holes on Thursday. All four of those birdies followed back-to-back pars as she birdied No. 9, 12, 15 and 18. She finished the day with five in all.
With those two combining for 8-under par in Round 3, Fresno State moved up one more spot, closing the tournament in seventh at 25-over par (889—296-299-294).
Notes
Harriet Lynch's third-place finish is the highest of her career at a Mountain West Championship.
Lynch has finished in the Top 11 in each MW Championship she has competed in, the first Bulldog to accomplish that (2019 – T-9th, 2021 – 11th, 2022 – T-7th, 2023 – T-3rd).
Lynch's nine under was five shots better than a previous best score at a MW Championship.
Lynch's 68 on Wednesday was her first round in the 60's at a MW Championship.
The 68 was Lynch's third score in the 60's this year.
Lynch's 212 matched her season-low score which she carded in the season-opening Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational.
Nicola Kaminski's 68 in the final round was her lowest one-round score in her two years at Fresno State.
The ninth-place finish was Kaminski's highest at a MW championship after placing 29th in 2022.
Kaminski's 214 was the lowest 54-hole score of her Bulldog career.
Lynch (-4) and Kaminski (-2) are the first Bulldogs to shoot under par at a MW Championship.
Fresno State had two Bulldogs in the Top 10 at the MW Championship for the first time since 2019.
It is the fourth time that has occurred, with Lynch being a part of two of those.
2014 (Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir – 1st, Madchen Ly – 6th), 2016 (Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir – T-7th, Kristin Simonsen – T-10th), 2019 (Brigitte Thibault – 1st, Harriet Lynch – T-9th), 2022 – Brigitte Thibault 1st, Harriet Lynch – T-9th)
Fresno State scoring
T3. Harriet Lynch -4 (73-71-68)
T9. Nicola Kaminski -2 (71-75-68)
41. Katelyn Lehigh +19 (80-75-80)
42. Lory Paradis +21 (76-83-78)
43. Katelyn Harris +22 (76-78-84)