RANCHO MIRAGE, Cal. – Two former UCF women's golfers are moving on in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament as Chinatsu Kobayashi (2017-21) and Maria Balcazar (2016-19) both finished tied for 66th place in the first stage of the qualfier in Rancho Mirage, California over the weekend.
A total of 95 players finished at 3-over par or better to advance to Stage II qualifying, which will take place in Venice, Florida from Oct. 21-24 on the Panther Course and Bobcat Course at Plantation Golf and Country Club.
Kobayashi was steady all weekend after posting a 72-72-72-73(+1) line in four rounds of play at the stage I qualifier. The Chiba, Japan native knocked down 14 birdies on the weekend en route to the 66th place finish.
While at UCF, Kobayashi played in nearly 30 events. In 2018-19, she helped the Knights win the Moon Golf Invitational after finishing tied for third with a 6-under 210 score. That same season, she helped guide UCF to NCAA West Regional before advancing to the NCAA National Championship for just the second time in program history. Most recently, Kobayashi finished tied for 27th at the NCAA Louisville regional, shooting 78-73-70=221(+5) to cap off the 2020-21 season.
Balcazar was also consistent in her performance in the qualifier. After shooting 1-over 73 in the first round, the former Knight bounced back with three straight rounds of 72(E) to tie Kobayashi and seven other golfers for 66th place.
During her time in the Black and Gold, Balcazar was a two-time All-American Athletic Conference honoree (2016-17, 2018-19) and was named AAC Freshman of the Year in 2016-17. She played in over 20 events and finished with a career-high 73.20 scoring average in 2016-17 (second on the team).
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