The California women's golf team is in Seaside to co-host the Molly Collegiate Invitational alongside Oregon State on Sept. 25-26. All nine Golden Bears on the roster will compete on the par-72, 6,128-yard Bayonet Golf Course.
This will be the second competition of the young season for the Bears, who finished in the top half of the team standings at the Dick McGuire Invitational earlier this month. Cal's huge second-round score of 9-under-par 279 in the season-opening tournament was tied for the team's best round in 15 years.
Junior Kaylyn Noh led the way in that round with a 5-under 67, good for her best 18-hole score as a Bear and just one stroke shy of the individual program record. It was freshman Constance Fouillet who ended the competition as Cal's top contributor though, as she posted back-to-back under-par rounds and earned a 17th-place individual finish in her Bear debut at 1-over 217.
After the Molly Invitational, Cal will have a short turnaround before competing alongside the Bears' men's golf team against Stanford in the Big Match Thursday at Menlo Country Club in Woodside.
"I feel like we can really do something with these next two tournaments and I think the rest of the team can feel it, too," Fouillet said. "Playing in front of our supporters will motivate us even more to try and get a medal. We're really looking forward to it."
TOURNAMENT INFO
- Dates: Sept. 25-26, 2023
- Format: 54 holes (36-18, Monday-Tuesday)
- Tee times (Monday): 8:30 a.m. PT shotgun
- Location: Seaside, Calif. | Bayonet Golf Course
- Course Info: Par 72 | 6,128 Yards
- Hosts: California, Oregon State
- Live Scoring: Golfstat
THE FIELD (12)
Oregon, Maryland, California, Oregon State, Kansas, Georgia Southern, Washington State, Rutgers, Delaware, San Jose State, UC Irvine, CSU Monterey Bay
OFF THE TEE
1 – Adora Liu (So., Fremont, Calif.)
Liu finished second on the team at the Dick McGuire Invitational, posting her best round yet as a Bear with a 3-under 69 in round two. In her debut season at Cal in 2022-23, she was in the lineup for every one of the Bears' fall competitions. In the spring, she tied for second individually at the Causeway Invitational, was one of the Bears' low scorers at the Pac-12 Championships, and was called upon to compete at the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional which she ended in 42nd place. This past summer, Liu finished first in the qualifying round of the NCGA Women's Amateur before advancing all the way to the semifinals.
2 – Constance Fouillet (Fr., Rennes, France)
One of the Bears' two newcomers in 2023, Constance Fouillet got out to a strong start to her Cal career. The freshman shot below par in each of the final two rounds in New Mexico, earning the team's first top-20 finish of the season with a 1-over 217 (76-71-70). The France native excelled as a golfer while attending Assomption Rennes High School, while also competing in volleyball and tennis.
3 – Olivia Lee (So., Gerrards Cross, England)
Lee will be making her season debut for the Bears at the Molly Invitational. The England native improved throughout her freshman campaign in 2022-23, earning a spot in the Bears' lineup during postseason play. Her highest individual finishes came in the Bears' final two tournaments of the season, as she tied for 43rd at both the Pac-12 Championships and NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional. This past summer, she had a great showing in the English Women's Amateur Championship, highlighted by a 1-over 72 that tied for third-place on the first day of stroke play.
4 – Rina Tatematsu (Sr., Bangkok, Thailand)
Tatematsu – who transferred from Oklahoma State in the summer – is in the lineup for the second straight time after making her debut for the Bears with a 31st-place finish (73-72-75 – 220) at the Dick McGuire Invitational. She began a successful three-year stint with the Cowgirls by being named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2021. She also earned WGCA Honorable Mention All-America and All-Big 12 Championship Team honors, set a program record for par-5 scoring (4.66) and ended the year ranked nationally at No. 24 overall. Consistently competing at a high level over the past three seasons, Tatematsu has won multiple tournaments and carded a 6-under 66 four different times.
5 – Kaylyn Noh (Jr., Rocklin)
Noh led the charge in Cal's outstanding second round at the Dick McGuire Invitational, carding a 5-under 67 that was just one stroke shy of the program record for an individual 18-hole round. The 2021-22 Big West Golfer of the Year cracked Cal's lineup four times in her first campaign with the Bears last season, earning her highest individual finish at the Meadow Club Invitational (T-27th at 7-over 223). She is coming off a great summer which included leading the CA Women's Amateur Championship through the first two rounds of stroke play and eventually medaling after carding a 9-under 135. In June, she won the inaugural Virginia Women's Open, ending the tournament four strokes clear of the closest competitor.
Ind. – Mika Jin (Sr., Fremont)
A mainstay in the lineup in recent years, Jin will make her season debut at the Molly Invitational. The senior was one of two Bears to compete in all 11 competitions in 2022-23, a season which started with her setting season-bests with a 17th-place finish and 2-under 69 second-round score at the USF Intercollegiate. Last month, Jin finished second in qualifying at the NCGA Women's Amateur and competed in Stage I of LPGA Q-School.
Ind. – Cristina Ochoa (Sr., Bogota, Colombia)
It was a standout junior year for Ochoa in 2022-23, as she recorded the team's lowest scoring average (73.8) through its first 10 competitions. She began the year by carding three straight rounds of 2-under 69 at the USF Intercollegiate, earning a third-place finish, her best of the season. In the Bears' fall finale at the Pac-12 Preview, Ochoa tied the program record for an individual round score with a -6 in the opening round. She led the team with six top-20 finishes and had the second-most rounds of par or better with seven.
Ind. – Anna Molloy (So., Gerrards Cross, England)
Molloy will compete for her second time as a Bear this week. In her lone competition last season, she shot 10-over 82 at the rain-shortened Causeway Invitational. Molloy competed alongside Lee at the English Women's Amateur Championship in August, finishing the opening round one stroke shy of a top-30 placing.
Ind. – Jieming Yang (Jr., Orlando, Fla.)
Yang makes her season debut coming off a solid summer of competition in which she won gold at the Alberta Women's Amateur Championship with a 4-stroke lead over second place and later competed alongside Jin in Stage I of LPGA Q-School. She was in the Bears' lineup for six competitions in 2022-23, earning an 11th-place finish at the Pac-12 Preview and 13th at the season-opening USF Intercollegiate.
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