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Esther Lee lines up a 30-foot eagle putt on the 18th green
Esther Lee lines up a 30-foot eagle putt on the 18th green

Esther Lee (-10) Shatters SCIAC Championship Record to Lead CMS Women's Golf to Tournament Title



GolfStat Scoring

VENTURA, Calif. - Esther Lee tied the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's golf single-round program record with a 67 on the final day of the SCIAC Championships on Tuesday, breaking the championship record by 14 strokes by finishing at -10 in the process, as the Athenas earned the team tournament title by seven strokes on Tuesday at Olivas Links Golf Course.

CMS shot in the red in all three rounds to end the tournament at -8, shooting -2 on Sunday, -4 on Monday, and -2 on Tuesday's final round, setting a new program record for a 54-hole score. Pomona-Pitzer, which finished the championship at -1, earned the league title and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships, based on its seven-round performance over three tournaments. 

Lee came into the day tied for first but ran away with the individual medalist honors by shooting -5 on Tuesday in a bogey-free round. She started the day on the back nine, and began with eight pars, but then holed a 30-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 18th to take the turn at -7. She added three more birdies on the back nine, including a tap-in after just missing another eagle try on No. 2, and then parred the 18th with another tap-in to finish at -10 (206), which was 14 shots better than the previous SCIAC record of 220, set by Margaret Loncki of CMS in 2018. 

Jeissy Lee had an even par on her final round, playing steady throughout her round with 14 pars and two birdies, while Irene Jun was +1 and Stella Cheng was +2 to help CMS come in under par for the third straight day. 

Jun ended the tournament at -1 to come in fourth place, while Cheng tied for seventh at +3 and Jeissy Lee was ninth at +4, giving the Athenas four players in the top 10. Ella Chiu wasn't far off the pace in 16th place, including an even par on her first round to help CMS get off to a lead on opening day. 

CMS, which came into the tournament ranked No. 8 in the nation, will await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, which it received a year ago before earning a ninth-place finish at nationals. The NCAAs this year will be held from May 9-12 at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.