Arkansas women’s golf sits second after opening round at Blessings

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks spent Saturday morning digging a hole on their home course and most of the afternoon climbing out of it.

No. 12 Arkansas women’s golf shot a 3-over-par 291 in the first round of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational and is in second place.

It took a while to get there.

The Hogs were 6-over as a team on the front nine at Blessings Golf Club, which plays to a par of 72.

They played the back nine in 4-under, and that’s the only reason the scoreboard looks respectable.

Most of that swing belongs to senior Maria Jose Marin, who’s playing in this event for the fourth time.

She didn’t do much early. Marin made eight pars on her first nine holes and a bogey on the par-3 eighth, so she made the turn at 1-over.

Marin heats up after the turn

Starting at No. 10, she birdied five of the next six holes.

That got her to 4-under for the day and into a tie for second on the individual leaderboard.

Marin also played the par 4s in 3-under, the best mark in the field on those holes.

Sophomore Sara Brentcheneff gave the Razorbacks their other round under par, and she did it in her first try at this tournament.

Her good stretch came earlier than Marin’s. Brentcheneff birdied three of the four holes leading into the turn and was 2-under on the front, the best of any Arkansas player.

Two of her birdies came on par 3s, at No. 8 and No. 17.

Brentcheneff finished at 2-under and is fifth.

Rest of the lineup finishes over par

Nobody else in the Hogs’ lineup broke par.

Sophomore Ebba Liljeberg, who played in this tournament a year ago for Missouri, birdied her first hole and then gave that back and more. She was 5-over when she got to the par-5 15th.

A solid approach there led to a birdie, and she parred the last three holes to finish at 4-over. She’s tied for 25th.

Sophomore Swetha Sathish shot 77 in her first time in the lineup at this event and is tied for 27th.

Senior Abbey Schutte had a 78, which was the score Arkansas threw out.

The Razorbacks also have two players competing as individuals, and neither had a dull day.

Freshman Melliyal Schmitt, in her first tournament for the Hogs, was 2-under after nine holes.

Schmitt recovers as Alabama leads

Then she made a triple bogey on the par-4 11th and a double bogey on the par-3 13th.

She answered with three birdies over her last five holes and got back to even par. That has her tied for ninth.

Junior Natalie Blonien had it the other way around. She was 5-over through nine, made three birdies on the back and finished at 3-over, tied for 18th.

All of it leaves Arkansas looking up at Alabama, which shot 8-under as a team.

The Razorbacks are the closest team to the lead, but there’s a lot of ground to cover from 3-over.

The second round is Sunday.

The Hogs tee off at 10:05 a.m. from the 10th tee, so they’ll start on the nine that treated them better Saturday.

Blonien and Schmitt go off at 8:15 a.m.