Grimstad Co-Leads Field After Day One of Hurricane Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Sophomore Renate Grimstad’s four-under-par round Monday paced the No. 24 University of Miami golf team on the opening day of the Hurricane Invitational, which takes place at the par-72, 6,150-yard Biltmore Golf Course.
Grimstad recorded a season-best score of 68 to co-lead the 75-golfer field along with crosstown rival Barry’s Tilda Larsson. The two will go into day Tuesday with a one-shot advantage over Oklahoma’s Rylee Pedigo, who also led over the course of the day, and Maryland’s Virunmat Olankitkunchai, who are tied for second.
“She played great, she had seven birdies today,” Miami head coach Patti Rizzo said of Grimstad. “Unfortunately, she had one double bogie, which really hurt her, and that was mostly siding, too. She’s really hitting it well, she’s been playing well all spring, very solid. She’s starting to mature as a player and gain confidence.”
As a team, the Hurricanes combined for an even score of 288, ranking them second among the 13 teams in the competition. Miami is looking well on its way to its 42nd top-five finish under Rizzo, as it leads fifth-placed Virginia Tech, coming into the tournament No. 46 in the country, by seven shots. No. 16 Oklahoma leads the way by three shots after posting a team round of 285.
“I think we are in good position, there are two more days left,” Rizzo said. “The girls are playing well, they just gave away a lot of easy puts today, but the greens are faster than we’ve ever played them before. It was unexpected and we need to make an adjustment, but I think we are in a good shape for tomorrow.”
Sophomore Macarena Aguilera also capitalized on the advantage of competing on her home course and met the course’s par of 72. She ended the day as one of the five players tied for ninth in the standings and sits just two shots off of the top five.
Junior Dewi Weber, who has found a place in the top 10 in four of the five events she’s competed in this year, had a round of one-over par. The No. 21 golfer in the nation is tied for 14th in the standings.
Miami’s trio of freshmen – Kristyna Frydlova, Serena Hou and Roos Haarman – competed on the Hurricanes’ practice course for the first time in their career. Frydlova shot a round of 75 and is tied for 29th in the standings, while Hou posted a score of 79 on day one for a tie at 57th place.
Haarman, who competes as an individual, rounded off the Canes’ participation with an opening round of eight-over-par, 80, which ranks her tied for 62nd in the standings.
Competition at the Biltmore resumes Tuesday morning with tee times as early as 7:30 a.m.
