Creighton freshman Katherine Lemke birdied her first hole and parred her final two while shooting an 84 on Monday in the first round of the NCAA Regionals. Lemke is in 66th place after 18 of 54 holes in the event.
The first postseason qualifier in program history, Lemke teed off at 8:50 a.m. Central on No. 10 and birdied her initial hole to temporarily move into a tie for second place. It would be her lone birdie of the day. A quadruple-bogey on the par-3 No. 12 hole sidetracked Lemke's early push, as she finished her first nine holes with a 9-over 44.
Lemke made the turn and parred five holes on the front nine, including her final two, to finish with an 84 overall.
Lemke earned her spot in the NCAA Regionals by virtue of winning a playoff at the BIG EAST Championship on April 23rd, becoming Creighton's first BIG EAST individual champion in any sport when she rolled in a 20-foot putt on the first playoff hole. Her 213 total at the tournament was the best 54-hole score for Creighton in any event since at least 2003-04 and a figure that hasn't been surpassed by any player on any team at the league championship since 2013. It helped the Geneva, Ill., product be named First Team All-BIG EAST, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and land a spot on the BIG EAST's All-Tournament Team.
Lemke has now played 31 rounds this season, with four of those under par. Her 76.22 scoring average is the best by a Bluejay since at least 2003-04 and has helped her to four top-five finishes in 10 completed events. Prior to earning medalist honors at the BIG EAST Championship, she had won the Creighton Classic on Oct. 12 and finished as the runner-up on April 12th at Stampede at the Creek. Entering NCAA Regionals, GolfStat ranked Lemke as the ninth-best golfer in the BIG EAST Conference.
Arkansas' Ela Anacona and Old Dominion qualifier Jana Melichova are tied for first place in the field after shooting identical 2-under 69s. Washington's Stefanie Deng and San Jose State's Natasha Andrea Oon were the only two other women to break par, as both finished with a 1-under 70.
Arkansas owns the 18-hole lead after a 7-over team total of 291, two shots better Washington and Michigan. Virginia and San Jose State are deadlocked in fourth place with a 294, five shots better than BIG EAST qualifier Xavier. The Musketeers' 299 tied them for sixth place with North Carolina.
The University of Michigan Golf Course features a 6,265 yard layout and owns a par of 71. The Ann Arbor venue is one of six regional sites, with 72 total teams and 36 individuals invited to the 2022 NCAA postseason. Each regional site features 12 teams and six individuals, with the top four teams (24 total) and top two individuals (12 total) not on an advancing team heading to the national finals at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., Friday through Wednesday, May 20-25
Play continues through Wednesday at the NCAA Regionals. Lemke will tee off at 7:55 a.m. Central on Tuesday, once again on the 10th hole.
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