Washington Huskies make big leap into lead at Kā‘anapali

Huskies are known for their smarts, strength, and stamina. The Washington Huskies women’s golf team displayed those traits during the second round of the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational at Kā‘anapali, erasing a three-shot deficit to leap into a nine-shot lead at 18-under. A three-way tie for second features Oregon State, Denver and Sacramento State at 9-under. BYU (-7) and Mercer (E) also remain in contention.

“Good things come to those who are patient,” said Washington women’s head coach Mary Lou Mulflur, the Washington athletic department’s longest-tenured employee who has overseen the Huskies for 42 seasons. “It was rewarding to watch our team piece everything together. Notably, two players (Vivian Lu and Wendy Tang) had bogey-free rounds, which is hard to achieve on Kā‘anapali’s fun but challenging layout.”

The Huskies were led by co-leader Vivian Lu (-9), the top-ranked player at Kā‘anapali (No. 29). The New Zealand native was named to the 2024 Annika Award Final Fall Watch List, which honors the women’s college golf player of the year, as selected by players, coaches and media.

“Viv’s been working her butt off this season,” continued Mulflur. “She exemplifies how hard work can pay off with consistent dedication.”

Washington has two players (Lu and Athena Ni) in the top seven heading into the final round.

Mercer, who led by three after the first round, was forced to compete in the second round without any margin for error. Analiese Raath was unfortunately disqualified for using a training aid on her driver. She will be allowed to play in the final round for the team title but not for individual standings.

Mercer’s Emilia Väistö is tied for third at 5-under after the second round on Royal Kā‘anapali. Oregon State, who won last month’s Causeway Invitational, seeks their second win this spring.

Atop the individual leaderboard is Gonzaga’s Grace Lee, tied with Lu at 9-under.

“Today’s performance was vintage Grace,” recalled Gonzaga women’s head coach Brad Rickel, in his 19th year leading the program. “She still shot six-under with two bogeys. When she gets the putter going, she always has the potential to score extremely well.”

The Gonzaga junior earned her first collegiate win at the 2023 Coeur d’Alene Collegiate Invitational after shooting a career-low 62 in the opening round.

A four-way tie for second at 5-under features Mercer’s Emilia Väistö, Sacramento State’s Sneha Sharan, Denver’s Emma Bryant and Oregon State’s Kyra Ly.

Sharan, a senior from India, was named the 2023-24 Big Sky Player of the Year. Bryant, a senior from Aurora, Colo., finished second in the 2024 Summit League Championship and earned an All-Summit League First Team selection.

Ly carded four straight birdies (holes 4–7) en route to a bogey-free 68. Last season, Ly finished with Oregon State’s sixth-best single-season scoring average (72.85).

Host Hawai‘i was led by junior Emiko Sverduk (T40; +2), a Long Beach, Calif., native by way of Washington State.

Following the second round on the driving range, Hawai‘i women’s golf coach Julie Brooks, the Rainbow Wahine, additional teams and Kā‘anapali teaching professional Jon Tempest hosted a free clinic for keiki with swing lessons, interactive drills, tips on college recruiting and more.

The University of Hawai‘i and Kā‘anapali hosted a free clinic for keiki on Tuesday afternoon. The final round began today at 8 a.m. HST. Attendance is free for walking spectators.

All team and individual scores can be found here: SCOREBOARD.