Sadie Englemann (Stanford Athletics photo)
You can't advance to Grayhawk Golf Club on the first day of regionals but you can certainly make the road a little easier - or harder - for yourself.
Georgia and North Carolina State created some breathing room for themselves by taking advantage of playing on their home courses in Athens and Raleigh, while defending national champion Stanford, behind a pair of 8-under rounds by Rose Zhang and Sadie Englemann, shot lights out in Pullman, Wash.
Michigan State and Tulsa grabbed the early leads at the Palm Beach Gardens and Westfield Regionals, while national championship hopefuls Wake Forest (Raleigh) and Oregon (Westfield) got off to slow starts.
Here's a recap of the first day of action from the six NCAA Regional sites around the country.
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Day One: 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Regionals
Athens Regional
University of Georgia Golf Course; Athens, Georgia
Third-seeded Ole Miss didn't get off to the start they hoped for but are just two strokes outside the current cutline heading into the second round in Athens, where Georgia put its home course knowledge to good use with a shining 9-under round on day one.
The teams: 1. South Carolina; 2. San Jose State; 3. Ole Miss; 4. Ohio State; 5. Georgia; 6. Maryland; 7. Kent State (Mid-American Conference); 8. Charleston (Colonial Athletic Association); 9. Kansas; 10. Furman (Southern Conference); 11. Augusta (Southland Conference); 12. Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference).
Five advancing teams as of today: 1. Georgia (-9); 2. Ohio State (E); 3. South Carolina (+1); t-4. San Jose State (+7), Maryland.
On the outside looking in: 6. Ole Miss (+9); 7. Furman (+9); t-8. Kansas (+12); Kent State (+12).
Advancing individual as of today: Anna Morgan, Furman (-4).
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Palm Beach Gardens Regional
PGA National Resort Palm Beach; Gardens, Fla.
Behind a 3-under 69 by Brooke Biermann, sixth-seeded Michigan State jumped out to an 11-stroke lead at Palm Beach Gardens. Third-seed Northwestern (+12) has two rounds to right its ship after opening with a 12-over 300.
The teams: 1. LSU; 2. Texas; 3. Northwestern; 4. UCF; 5. Duke; 6. Michigan State; 7. California; 8. Arkansas; 9. Alabama; 10. South Florida; 11. Penn (The Ivy League); 12. Quinnipiac (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).
Five advancing teams as of today: 1. Michigan State (-3); 2. South Florida (+8); 3. Arkansas (+9); t-4. Duke (+10), LSU (+10), Texas (+10).
On the outside looking in: 7. Alabama (+11); t-8. Central Florida (+12), Northwestern (+12).
Advancing individual as of today: t. Kelly Sim, Northwestern (-2); Sara Byrne, Miami (-2)
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Raleigh Regional
Lonnie Poole Golf Course; Raleigh, NC
There's no panic in Winston-Salem, but top-seed Wake Forest will have to regroup after a 4-over round of 292 left the Demon Deacons five shots off the cutline. North Carolina State (-6) is off to a tremendous start on its home course while Arizona State (-4) and Arizona (-2) traveled well. Will No. 9 seed Purdue be able to follow up with two more strong rounds to punch its ticket to Grayhawk?
The teams: 1. Wake Forest; 2. Arizona State; 3. Florida State; 4. Florida; 5. Arizona; 6. North Texas (Conference USA); 7. TCU; 8. NC State; 9. Purdue; 10. Nebraska; 11. Campbell (Big South Conference); 12. Richmond (Patriot League).
Five advancing teams as of today: 1. North Carolina State (-6); 2. Florida State (-5); 3. Arizona State (-4); 4. Arizona (-2); 5. Purdue (-1).
On the outside looking in: 6. Florida (+2); t-7. Wake Forest (+4); TCU (+4).
Advancing individual as of today: Dorota Zalewska; Chattanooga (-3).
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San Antonio Regional
TPC San Antonio; San Antonio, Texas
Scores were high in San Antonio, where top-seed Texas A&M and No. 4 Oklahoma State are tied at the top at 7-under. No. 3 seed Pepperdine is one off the current cutline while No. 2 seed Auburn (+16) has its work cut out for itself over the next two days.
The Teams: 1. Texas A&M (Southeastern Conference); 2. Auburn; 3. Pepperdine; 4. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference); 5. SMU (American Athletic Conference); 6. UCLA; 7. New Mexico (Mountain West Conference); 8. Denver (The Summit League); 9. Illinois (Big Ten Conference); 10. Sam Houston (Western Athletic Conference); 11. ULM (Sun Belt Conference); 12. Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference).
Five advancing teams as of today: t-1. Oklahoma State (+7); Texas A&M (+7); 3. SMU (+8); t-4. New Mexico (+10); UCLA (+10).
On the outside looking in: 6. Pepperdine (+11); 7. Denver (+14); 8. Auburn (+16).
Advancing individual as of today: t. Allysha Mae Mateo; BYU (-1); Camryn Carreon, Texas-San Antonio (-1).
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Westfield Regional
The Club at Chatham Hills; Westfield, Ind.
Once a dominant force on the national scene, the Tulsa Hurricanes got off to a strong start in Westfield with a 9-under 279. The outsiders, particularly Virginia (-1), Vanderbilt (-1) and Tennessee (E), have a lot of golf in front of them while No. 2 seed Oregon, which finished runner-up to Stanford at last year's National Championships, is eight off the current cutline.
The teams: 1. Mississippi State; 2. Oregon; 3. Vanderbilt; 4. Iowa State; 5. Virginia; 6. Tulsa; 7. Tennessee; 8. Michigan; 9. Oregon State; 10. Xavier (Big East Conference); 11. Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun Conference); 12. Morehead State (Ohio Valley Conference).
Five advancing teams as of today: 1. Tulsa (-9); 2. Mississippi State (-8); Michigan (-5); t-4. Iowa State (-2); Oregon State (-2).
On the outside looking in: t-6. Virginia (-1); Vanderbilt (-1); 8. Tennessee (E);
Advancing individual as of today: t. Amanda Sambach, Virginia (-3); Celina Sattelkau; Vanderbilt (-3).
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Pullman Regional
Palouse Ridge Golf Club: Pullman, Wash.
At 21-under, the Cardinal registered its second-best 18-hole team score in program history today to open the Pullman Regional. Rose Zhang and Sadie Englemann both turned in rounds of 8-under 64. Zhang finished off her round with four birdies and an eagle while Englemann bettered her previous career low round by three strokes. Freshman Kelly Xu also went low with a 4-under 68. Big Sky champions Sacramento State also had a solid start among a sea of Power 5 schools.
The teams: 1. Stanford; 2. Baylor; 3. Southern California (Pac-12 Conference); 4. Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference); 5. Kentucky; 6. Texas Tech; 7. Houston; 8. North Carolina; 9. UNLV; 10. Sacramento State (Big Sky Conference); 11. Cal Poly (Big West Conference); 12. Green Bay (Horizon League).
Five advancing teams as of today: 1. Stanford (-21); 2. USC (-16); 3. Texas Tech (-11); t-4. Baylor (-5); Sacramento State (-5).
On the outside looking in: 6. Houston (-4); 7. Clemson (-3); 8. Cal Poly (-2); 9. Kentucky (-1).
Advancing individual as of today: Tiffany Le; UC Riverside (-7).