UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — Nina Choe is in second place after the first day of the Leadership and Golf Invitational on Monday at Chambers Bay Golf Course. Choe started her collegiate career in the Aggies' season-opener by carding a combined five-under par 36-hole score of 139 and will start Tuesday's third and final round one shot off the pace of first-day leader Raya Nakao of Oregon State, who shot a six-under par 138 on Monday.
Choe, who is a true freshman and native of New York City playing in the Aggies' top spot in the lineup, performance led UC Davis to a sixth-place spot in the team standings after the opening day. The two-round score shot by UC Davis (286-299 - 585, +9) on Monday is 12 shots behind 36-hole leader Tulsa (286-285 - 571, -5) with Colorado (286-287 - 573, -3), Oregon State (283-292 - 575, -1), SMU (281-295 - 576, E) and Eastern Michigan (289-290 - 579, +3) also in front of the Aggies.
Choe started her first collegiate round on fire with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-four second hole before making a 40-footer for birdie on the par-three third. She would end up with five birdies in her first 12 holes, adding the par-five eighth and par-four 11th and 12th. Choe rebounded from her lone bogey of the first round with five straight pars to finish with a four-under 68. She began her second round with birdies on the par-five first and fourth holes before a double bogey on the par-four sixth and a bogey on the par-four seventh to go one-over for the round. After two pars to finish with a one-over 38 on the front nine, she would play the back nine in two-under with three birdies (11, 12, 18) and one bogey (14).
Michelle Ho (69-75 - 144, E) is the next UC Davis player on the individual leaderboard in a tie for 13th. Ho lit up the back nine of her three-under par opening round 69 with an eagle on the par-four 12th hole and back-to-back birdies on the par-three 15th and par-four 16th. Ho drove the green and then putted in from 12 feet for her eagle. She then rebounded from a five-over par first seven holes in her second round by playing the final 11 in two-under with two birdies (9, 16) and nine pars.
Other competing in the event for the Aggies are Vani Karimanal (T29th, 74-74 - 148, +4), Gabriella Ilardi (T70th, 75-79 - 154, +10) and Yu "Yoyo" Bai (76-79 - 155, +11). Claire Chang (T46th, 77-73 - 150, +6) is playing as an individual.
"The four-under par and three-under par first rounds posted by Nina and Michelle are great examples of the talent and potential we have within this group," head coach Amelia Hicks said. "At the same time, we know there are areas we can clean up, and that's what makes this team so exciting. We're going to focus on getting better each day, controlling what we can control, and trusting the small improvements will continue to add up. There is a lot of golf ahead of us, and we're really excited about what this team can become."
Action will conclude at Chambers Bay Golf Course with the final round on Tuesday. The historic Chambers Bay venue has previously hosted several high-profile golf tournaments since it was converted from a sand and gravel quarry in 2007, including the U.S. Amateur (2010), U.S. Open (2015) and the U.S. Women's Amateur (2022). The U.S. Junior Amateur (2027) and U.S. Amateur (2033) on the docket in the coming years.
The Leadership and Golf Invitational begins a four-tournament fall slate for the Aggies that also includes the Colonel Wallenberg Ram Classic hosted by Colorado State (Sept. 21-22), the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational hosted by Kansas (Oct. 5-6) and the Stanford Intercollegiate hosted by Stanford (Oct. 16-18).
LEADERSHIP AND GOLF INVITATIONAL - MONDAY-TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14-15, 2026
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ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS
UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026-27.
For more information, visit ucdavisaggies.com.
