RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Paced by the top two individual performances of the day, San José State turned in the second-best first-round score in tournament history to forge a six-stroke lead at the 2024 Mountain West Women’s Golf Championship on Tuesday.

The Spartans, ranked 26th nationally, torched the par-72, 6,286-yard Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club to the tune of an 8-under-par 280, led by Lucia Lopez Ortega’s 5-under 67 and Kajsa Arwefjäll’s 4-under 68. The team round is tied for the fifth-best in any round in MW tournament history and was bettered in the first round only by SJSU’s 279 in 2022, which the Spartans accomplished en route to their only previous MW team title.

Lopez Ortega’s 67 was the third-best first-round score in tournament history and tied for the fifth-best overall. Arwefjäll’s 68 is tied for the fourth-best opening-round score in championship lore. All four of the Spartans’ counters finished inside the top 20, with Rebecca Gyllner shooting an even-par 72 to tie for 11th and Louisa Carlbom turning in a 1-over 73 to tie for 17th.

Colorado State had the day’s only other under-par team round, as the Rams sit second at 2-under 286, matching the fifth-best opening-round score in tournament history. CSU also has a pair of players in the top 10. Andrea Bergsdottir, who posted the only eagle of the day with a 2 on the par-4 16th hole, tied for fourth at 2-under 70, and freshman Kara Kaneshiro tied for seventh, one stroke back. Panchalika Arphamongkol turned in an even-par 72 to finish amid a six-way tie for 11th.

UNLV currently sits third at 1-over 289, with Toa Yokoyama wrapping the day tied for seventh at 1-under 71.

Fresno State’s Sophia Chen is alone in third at 3-under 69, while New Mexico’s Lauren Lehigh and San Diego State’s Emma Narita are in a three-way tie for fourth at 2-under 70. Nevada’s Leah John and SDSU’s Stephanie Barbaglia round out the top 10 in a four-way tie for seventh at 1-under 71.

Day two tee times begin at 7 a.m. PT, with Nevada, Wyoming and Boise State paired together. New Mexico, San Diego State and Fresno State begin teeing off at 7:45 a.m., followed by UNLV, Colorado State and San José State beginning at 8:30. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.

HOW TO WATCH

All three rounds of the 2024 MW Women’s Golf Championship will be streamed live on GolfKast via GKLive.TV, from tee-off of the first group through completion of the final group, providing coverage with 20 cameras on select holes. Hole 18 will include live play-by-play each day from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT. Jesse Kurtz of the Mountain West Network and former San Diego State coach and LPGA professional Leslie Spalding will be on the call.

Viewers must sign up for a free account on the home page to watch the event. The event home page can be found here.

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