Parel & Nguyen Sizzle with a 64 to Lead Women’s Four-Ball Championship

SUGAR LAND – Elise Parel from Porter and Jacqueline Nguyen from Houston combined for eight birdies and a bogey-free 8-under-par 64 on Monday to grab the lead after one round of the 2022 Texas Women’s Four-Ball Championship.

The two Houston Baptist University teammates were understandably all smiles when they finished their opening round at scenic Riverbend Country Club, a delightful yet challenging 1956 J. Press Maxwell design.

“We started off really good with two birdies in our first three holes,” said Nguyen, a sophomore at HBU. “Then Elise caught fire. She literally started sticking them within 5 or 6 feet.”

Outside a 25-footer on the par-4 16th, Parel said all their birdies were within 15 feet.

“If any hiccups happened on a shot, we knew we could rely on each other to stick it close or at least make par,” Parel said. “It was just really good teamwork.”

Three shots back in second place are Rylie Cerny from Kingwood and Jessica Aguirre from Colleyville. They’ll be teammates in the fall at Stephen F. Austin, but Monday at Riverbend was the first time they’ve every teamed up. After a 5-under 67, it’s safe to say they have some chemistry together.

“I think the key for us was we were really having fun and joking around out there,” Aguirre said. “We made sure we knew it was OK if we hit a bad shot; we tried not to get too emotional out there. It was a really good day out there for us.”

Abigail Hirtzel from Waxahachie and Madison Le from Arlington are in third place with a 3-under 69. Erin Garza from Montgomery and Brandee Fleming from Magnolia share fourth place at 2-under 70 with Simone Campise from Lewisville and Sidney Stramel from Allen.

Scheduled for 36 holes of four-ball stroke play, the Women’s Four-Ball feature two sets of tees for the fourth consecutive year. The TGA encourages participation from competitive golfers of all skill levels, from juniors and collegiate players to senior amateurs of all skill levels. In addition to the Championship Flight, competitors were placed into three other flights based on each team’s combined World Handicap System index.

In the First Flight, Meghan Moake from Houston and Caitlyn Stanley from Katy combined to shoot a 1-under 71 to take the lead. Cherri Rapp from Austin and Olivia Campbell from Franklin hold the Second Flight lead after their 6-over 78. Erica McAlister from Keller and Linda Edwards from Southlake will sleep on the Third Flight lead after they teamed up for a 9-over 81.

One of the crown jewels of the Sugar Land area, the tree-lined Riverbend course sports narrow fairways, perfectly conditioned greens, and surprising elevation changes. In 2010, Texas architect Jeff Blume led a $1.4 million renovation project that added more topography in the fairways, as well as additional bunkers. The par-72 layout the course tips out at a little less than 7,000 yards, but the Championship Division of the 2022 Women’s Four-Ball Championship played it from 6,005 yards.

The inaugural Women’s Four-Ball was held in 2007 at the Golf Club of Houston, which recently hosted the 101st Women’s Texas Amateur. Now in its 16th edition, the Women’s Four-Ball continues to attract some of the state’s most elite female amateur golfers.

For more information on the 2022 Women’s Four-Ball, click here.