By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

After working shorthanded last season and missing the NCAA Championships a year after a runner-up finish, Baylor women's golf coach Jay Goble made sure he's got more cards in the deck this time.

Three of the team's five newcomers will be in action when the Bears open at the Dick McGuire Invitational that begins Monday at the UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M.

"It's going to be an exciting year," said Goble, beginning his sixth year at Baylor. "We have a lot of returning veterans and a whole group of new players that we're really excited about. . . . Just like anything else, when you have a down year or a down time, you're driven to be better. I'm a competitor, and I want to win, and I know we have a team that's deep enough to do some damage this year."

An All-American as a first-semester freshman in 2015, Dylan Kim missed all but one tournament last year, undergoing a surgery last October to remove a benign leg tumor. But she tied for fifth in stroke play at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship this summer and made it to the Round of 16 in match play.

"She's back playing well, she feels really good, looks good, I think she's ready to go," Goble said. "She's a great team leader, on and off the golf course. Obviously, her scores are great and something that's going to help us a lot. But she also has a great demeanor with the rest of the team, and I think she can help pull them along with her when she's playing well."

Kim, who posted a 73.08-stroke average in earning second-team All-America honors as a freshman, said her goals are always to be better.

"It was difficult (last year), but I tried to take the positives from it and use the year to improve and work on some things when I had the time off," she said. "I'm excited to get going again."

The only returners in the lineup this week are sophomore Maria Vesga (75.39) and senior Maggie Beth Byers (76.04). Freshmen Evelyn Arguelles from Mexico and Fiona Liddell from Germany are making their collegiate debuts and round out the team lineup, while junior transfer Amy Lee from USC will play this tournament as an individual.

Goble said Lee, who was part of the USC team that was first through stroke play at the 2015 NCAA Championships, is a "big get for us." At the Northrop Grumman Invitational, Lee was third and Kim tied for fourth individually.

"She hasn't been playing her best of yet, but the potential for her is off-the-charts," Goble said. "She has a lot of game and a lot of potential."

Lee said she transferred from USC to "get away from the bigger city."

"I really like the family atmosphere out here. Everyone is so close, and they all seem to know each other and everyone is super nice," she said. "Baylor has great facilities, not to mention the $10 million golf facility they're building right now. It's a great school."

Indicative of the team's depth, junior Giovana Maymon from that 2015 national runner-up team didn't make it through qualifying along with freshmen Chloe Caron from France and Cheerie Tan from Australia.

"Qualifying has been a challenge and a little different than the past couple years because we have lots of depth. We have a lot of people that can go out and play well," Goble said. "You have to be on your game and sharp, which is great. That prepares us for tournaments and gets us ready to go."

This field will be one of the best the Bears see all year. Nine of the 16 teams were in Golfweek's final Top 25 last year, and all but four of the teams earned bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor is paired with a pair of top-10 teams -- Oklahoma State and Northwestern -- for both of Monday's rounds, with shotgun starts at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. CDT. The field also includes Top 25 teams Arizona, Arizona State, California, UNLV, San Diego State and Iowa State, plus Pepperdine, Oklahoma, Washington State, Denver, UC Davis and New Mexico.

Five years ago, Baylor won the tournament in Goble's first season, beating TCU and Denver by four strokes.

"I think it's a good golf course for us," he said. "Our greens are similar to theirs, the elevation is very similar. I know it was five years ago, but I feel really comfortable out there. I know where the pins are going to be and I very confident on how to get around the golf course."

Live scoring for the 54-hole tournament, which wraps up with a final round on Tuesday, is available at www.birdiefire.com.