Tuesday, September 15
University Place, Wash.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Third Round
Maya McVey
Photo by: Scott Tan
McVey, Buffs Log Second Place Finishes
September 15, 2026 | Women's Golf
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Led by Maya McVey's runner-up finish, Colorado women's golf had an outstanding start to the season, placing second out of 17 teams at the Leadership and Golf Invitational that wrapped up with the final 18 holes Tuesday at Chambers Bay Golf Course.
The Buffaloes finished the tournament at 6-over par over 54 holes, holding their spot in the standings from Monday's 36-hole marathon. Colorado was 9-over on Tuesday, in line with most of the field, which faced tougher hole placements and scoring holes in the final round.
Eastern Michigan was the only team to tame the course on Tuesday, posting a 4-under round to claim its second straight Leadership and Golf Invitational title and finish at 1-under, seven strokes better than the Buffaloes. Tulsa, the leader after the first two rounds, finished third at 7-over, followed by SMU and Oregon State, which tied for fourth at 11-over.
McVey shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish second overall at 6-under, just one stroke behind Eastern Michigan's Savannah de Bock, who had back-to-back birdies on the 18th and 1st to clinch medalist honors at 7-under.
"Big picture, we're really happy with how this week went," Colorado head coach Madeleine Sheils said. "Hats off to Eastern Michigan; they played an awesome round of golf today. The three teams we were paired with (Tulsa, Oregon State and SMU), none of them played particularly great either. The golf course was just set up difficult, and Eastern Michigan put together a really nice round."
"But it's hard to win in golf, and any time you get to put yourself in the mix and give yourself that chance, it's worth its weight in gold. I'm happy we got to have that experience today."
Speaking of that big picture, while the trophy itself is heading to Eastern Michigan, a national semifinalist a year ago for starters, there's something to be said about Colorado's trajectory. Last year, the Buffaloes finished ninth in this same tournament at 34-over par, a 28-stroke improvement.
"That type of leap forward from ninth to second, it's really exciting and just shows how much hard work this group has put in over the last year, how much they've learned and grown and what they're putting into action," Sheils said. " A ton of positives to take away."
McVey's final line of the week was a 71 in the first round, a career-best 69 in the second, and then a 70 on Tuesday, making her the 11th Colorado women's golfer to go under par in all three rounds of a tournament. She started 1-over through three but made three birdies in a five-hole stretch to reach 2-under. McVey stumbled at the ninth with a double-bogey to fall back to even, but then she owned the back nine.
McVey made par on eight of nine holes on the back nine, and the round was highlighted by an eagle on the drivable 246-yard par-4 12th. She was perfect in her placement on the drive, roughly 12 feet below the hole, and then sinking the putt, which put her at 6-under for good.
"I'm absolutely thrilled for her putting together three straight rounds under par, and on this golf course it's not an easy thing to do," Sheils said. "Incredibly impressed, especially with her patience. She wasn't perfect by any means, but she didn't get ahead of herself and she just kept trusting her own routines and processes and it's very cool to see that pay off."
Sophomore Teemapat Pateetin recorded her fourth career top-20 finish, tying for 17th place at 4-over after logging Colorado's second-best final round with a 73. Senior Carolyn Fuller was one shot behind, tying for 23rd after a third-round 75.
Junior Ellen O'Shaughnessy finished in a seven-way tie for 33rd place at 8-over. Sophomore Brenna Higgins tied for 58th at 12-over.
Colorado returns to action next week at the GolfWeek Red Sky Challenge, Sept. 21-23, at the Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo.
NOTES: McVey's second-place finish is her best at Colorado and her third top-5 finish … Her performance ties for 13th in team history in both 54-hole score (210) and tournament score in relation to par (-6) … Colorado recorded its 13th top-10 finish in the last 14 tournaments dating back to last year … Also the program's fourth top-four finish since the start of the 2025-26 season.
The Buffaloes finished the tournament at 6-over par over 54 holes, holding their spot in the standings from Monday's 36-hole marathon. Colorado was 9-over on Tuesday, in line with most of the field, which faced tougher hole placements and scoring holes in the final round.
Eastern Michigan was the only team to tame the course on Tuesday, posting a 4-under round to claim its second straight Leadership and Golf Invitational title and finish at 1-under, seven strokes better than the Buffaloes. Tulsa, the leader after the first two rounds, finished third at 7-over, followed by SMU and Oregon State, which tied for fourth at 11-over.
McVey shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish second overall at 6-under, just one stroke behind Eastern Michigan's Savannah de Bock, who had back-to-back birdies on the 18th and 1st to clinch medalist honors at 7-under.
"Big picture, we're really happy with how this week went," Colorado head coach Madeleine Sheils said. "Hats off to Eastern Michigan; they played an awesome round of golf today. The three teams we were paired with (Tulsa, Oregon State and SMU), none of them played particularly great either. The golf course was just set up difficult, and Eastern Michigan put together a really nice round."
"But it's hard to win in golf, and any time you get to put yourself in the mix and give yourself that chance, it's worth its weight in gold. I'm happy we got to have that experience today."
Speaking of that big picture, while the trophy itself is heading to Eastern Michigan, a national semifinalist a year ago for starters, there's something to be said about Colorado's trajectory. Last year, the Buffaloes finished ninth in this same tournament at 34-over par, a 28-stroke improvement.
"That type of leap forward from ninth to second, it's really exciting and just shows how much hard work this group has put in over the last year, how much they've learned and grown and what they're putting into action," Sheils said. " A ton of positives to take away."
McVey's final line of the week was a 71 in the first round, a career-best 69 in the second, and then a 70 on Tuesday, making her the 11th Colorado women's golfer to go under par in all three rounds of a tournament. She started 1-over through three but made three birdies in a five-hole stretch to reach 2-under. McVey stumbled at the ninth with a double-bogey to fall back to even, but then she owned the back nine.
McVey made par on eight of nine holes on the back nine, and the round was highlighted by an eagle on the drivable 246-yard par-4 12th. She was perfect in her placement on the drive, roughly 12 feet below the hole, and then sinking the putt, which put her at 6-under for good.
"I'm absolutely thrilled for her putting together three straight rounds under par, and on this golf course it's not an easy thing to do," Sheils said. "Incredibly impressed, especially with her patience. She wasn't perfect by any means, but she didn't get ahead of herself and she just kept trusting her own routines and processes and it's very cool to see that pay off."
Sophomore Teemapat Pateetin recorded her fourth career top-20 finish, tying for 17th place at 4-over after logging Colorado's second-best final round with a 73. Senior Carolyn Fuller was one shot behind, tying for 23rd after a third-round 75.
Junior Ellen O'Shaughnessy finished in a seven-way tie for 33rd place at 8-over. Sophomore Brenna Higgins tied for 58th at 12-over.
Colorado returns to action next week at the GolfWeek Red Sky Challenge, Sept. 21-23, at the Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo.
NOTES: McVey's second-place finish is her best at Colorado and her third top-5 finish … Her performance ties for 13th in team history in both 54-hole score (210) and tournament score in relation to par (-6) … Colorado recorded its 13th top-10 finish in the last 14 tournaments dating back to last year … Also the program's fourth top-four finish since the start of the 2025-26 season.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | ||||||
| Rank | Name | Score (To Par) | ||||
| 2. | Maya McVey | 71-69-70—210 (-6) | ||||
| T17. | Teemapat Pateetin | 76-71-73—220 (+4) | ||||
| T23. | Carolyn Fuller | 69-77-75—221 (+5) | ||||
| T33. | Ellen O'Shaughnessy | 73-71-80—224 (+8) | ||||
| T58. | Brenna Higgins | 73-76-79—228 (+12) | ||||
| TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS | ||||||
| Rank | Name | Score (To Par) | ||||
| 1. | Savannah de Bock, Eastern Michigan | 71-70-68—209 (-7) | ||||
| 2. | Maya McVey, Colorado | 71-69-70—210 (-6) | ||||
| 3. | Baiyok Sukterm, Eastern Michigan | 72-69-70—211 (-5) | ||||
| 4. | Raya Nakao, Oregon State | 68-70-74—212 (-4) | ||||
| T5. | Zoe Shamy, Tulsa | 69-71-74—214 (-2) | ||||
| T5. | Grace Jin, SMU | 66-75-73—214 (-2) | ||||
| T5. | Samantha Olson, Tulsa | 70-71-73—214 (-2) | ||||
| T5. | Nina Choe, UC Davis | 68-71-75—214 (-2) | ||||
| TEAM SCORES | ||||||
| Rank | Team | Score (To Par) | ||||
| 1. | Eastern Michigan | 289-290-284—863 (-1) | ||||
| 2. | Colorado | 286-287-297—870 (+6) | ||||
| 3. | Tulsa | 286-285-300—871 (+7) | ||||
| T4. | SMU | 281-295-299—875 (+11) | ||||
| T4. | Oregon State | 283-292-300—875 (+11) | ||||
| 6. | San Jose State | 292-294-294—880 (+16) | ||||
| 7. | UC Davis | 287-299-296—881 (+17) | ||||
| T8. | Santa Clara | 297-293-298—888 (+24) | ||||
| T8. | Washington | 292-301-295—888 (+24) | ||||
| T10. | Little Rock | 293-296-303—892 (+28) | ||||
| T10. | Long Beach State | 303-295-294—892 (+28) | ||||
| 12. | San Francisco | 302-298-296—896 (+32) | ||||
| 13. | Cal Poly | 296-304-303—903 (+39) | ||||
| 14. | Seattle | 308-301-301—910 (+46) | ||||
| 15. | ULM | 305-300-308—913 (+49) | ||||
| 16. | Gonzaga | 307-299-313—919 (+55) | ||||
| 17. | Grand Canyon | 303-308-309—920 (+56) | ||||
Players Mentioned
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