Bailey Shoemaker Breaks Course Record at NCAA East Lansing Regional

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Freshman Bailey Shoemaker broke the course record and posted the best round of her career, as she leads the tournament and helped the Trojans to a team lead at the NCAA Regional. No. 1 seeded USC women's golf stands alone at the top of the leaderboard at seven-under-par after the first round of the NCAA East Lansing Regional on Monday, May 6, at the Forest Akers West Course. 

Shoemaker played nearly perfect, carding a 65 (-7) as she carries a two-stroke advantage over the second-place finisher on day one. The Trojans also hold a two-stroke advantage, as the team finished with a 281 (-7). Pepperdine sits second in the field at five under par, and Illinois State is last at 24 over. 

The freshman started and finished strong as she assembled seven birdies for the afternoon. Shoemaker went three-under on the front side and followed suit by going four-under after the turn. Shoemaker posted the best round of her young career, as her previous best was a 67 at the Pac-12 Preview. 

USC had two other players within the top 12: sophomore Catherine Park is tied for fourth, and senior Brianna Navarrosa is tied for 12th. Both players have been on a roll, as Park finished first and Navarrosa finished 4th at the Pac-12 Championship. Park had another great outing but was affected by two blemishes, as she had a double bogey on No. 8 and a bogey on No. 11. Other than that, she produced five birdies, as she was one-under on both the front and back to make her two-under for the first round. Navarrosa, on the other hand, pared most of the holes as she had one bogey, one birdie, and 16 pars. 

The last counting score for the Trojans was from junior Amari Avery. Avery carded a 75 (+3) as she was two over on the front and one over on the back. Senior Christine Wang was last on the Trojans at four-over-par. Wang had a comeback on the back nine, as she was three-over on the front and just one-over on the back. 

The Women of Troy hope to continue to extend their lead on Day Two as they tee off at 5 a.m. PST/8 a.m. EST at the Forest Akers West Course in East Lansing, Mich. 

For more information on the USC women's golf team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Trojans can follow the team on Instagram and on X @USCWomensGolf.