Gonzaga - The Gold Rush Notes

Gonzaga at The Gold Rush
MONDAY-TUESDAY, FEB. 27-28, 2017 | SEAL BEACH, CALIF. | OLD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB
PAR AND DISTANCE: Par-72 | 6,097 yards
FIRST GU TEE TIME: 8 a.m. PT
LIVE SCORING: GoZags.com
LAST TIME AT EVENT: 2016 | 6th, 41-over (905)
TOP GU INDIVIDUAL: Bianca Pagdanganan | 4th, 216 (E)

THE ZAGS HAVE DISCOVERED GOLD BEFORE:
- The Zags have played in the Gold Rush four times previously, winning the team title in 2014 with a +29 score of 893. Alice Kim was the individual champion that year setting the tournament record at the time with a score of 215. Current senior Ciera Min finished second just two strokes back.
- Prior to the 2014-15 season, the tournament was played at the Yorba Linda Country Club.
- In 2013, the Zags finished runner-up with a team score of 927. Raychelle Santos won the individual title with a score of 224.
- In 2011, Gonzaga finished sixth with a score of 951. Jessica Howe shot a final-round 80 to finish with a 54-hole score of 951 for 10th place.

ABOUT THE RUSH:
- The sixth edition of the Gold Rush is set to take place Monday, Feb. 27, and Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach, Calif.
- First and second round action will take place on Monday (Feb. 27), followed by final round play concluding on Tuesday (Feb. 28). Both days will begin with an 8 a.m. (PST) shotgun start.
- Old Ranch Country Club will play to a par-72 at 6,097-yards.
- BYU and Ole Miss highlight a 14-team field and are ranked 31st and 59th by Golfstat, respectively.

MIN CAPS A GREAT FALL:
- Ciera Min has been lights-out to begin her senior season...in stroke play, she's finished among the Top Five three times, including second-place finishes at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic and Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational.
- Against other WCC players in stroke play, Min's been dominant this year, going 38-2-0 head-to-head...also, she's shot below par in seven of her 10 stroke play rounds, scoring in the 60s twice.
- In match play, Min was just as impressive, winning all three matches against Idaho, Portland State, and BYU's No. 1 seeds...she won every match in dominant fashion with scores of either 5&4 and 4&2.

WCC PRESEASON PICKS:
- Gonzaga senior Ciera Min and sophomore Bianca Pagdanganan were both selected to the 2017 Preseason All-West Coast Confer-ence team.
- Min was selected for the second time and Pagdanganan the first.
- The Bulldogs are picked third in the WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll with nine points.

HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR CHRISTMAS BREAK?
- Gonzaga sophomore Bianca Pagdanganan and GU freshman Diana Araneta both competed in the Philippine Ladies Open, January 11-13, at the Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong, Philippines, their home country.
- Pagdanganan won the title, leading wire-to-wire and firing a final round 69, three-under par. Pagdanganan set a new record for the lowest three-day score in tournament history with a -16 finish.
- Both competed in the Open Division with Pagdanganan taking first and Araneta finishing 17th at +16.