Chattanooga Laps Field Capturing Kinderlou Forest Challenge by Nine Shots
Mocs post three in top 10 led by freshman Yushira Budhram who finished 2nd by one shot at even par 219
VALDOSTA, Ga. --- Three top 10 finishers led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golf team to the Kinderlou Forest Challenge Championship Tuesday afternoon. Chattanooga won its second event of the season with a dominating performance shooting two-under par 290.
The Mocs started the round six shots behind Coastal Carolina tied for second with Florida State. The 290 topped the Chanticleers by 15 shots, while FSU was 14 off UTC's pace. Chattanooga's 54-hole total of 896 won by nine strokes over second-place CCU and 13 clear of third-place Augusta State.
Freshman Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) shot two-under par 71 to finish in second place at level par 219. Budhram ended up one shot off the pace set by Augusta State's Casey Kennedy (218).
"Absolutely delighted with Yushi's play this week," said head coach Colette Murray. "She's always had it in her, but it has just taken some time to get adjusted."
She started her day with a birdie on one and was minus four after a birdie on 12. A bogey on 13 and double on 14 damaged her medalist hopes, but she close with a birdie on 18. Kennedy, who started her day on the fourth hole, birdie her 17th hole (No. 2) and parred her last for the win.
Seniors Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) and Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) joined Budhram in the top 10. de Groot ended up fourth at three-over par, 222, while Wolf was seventh at plus six, 225.
Wolf began the round tied for 31st, but her career-best four-under par round of 69, moved her 24 spots on the leaderboard. The 69 ties for the low round of 2010-11, while also tying for the best score vs. par (-4).
Junior Maria Juliana Loza (Bucaramanga, Colombia) made it four Mocs in the top 20 tying for 19th at 230. Freshmen Jordan Britt (Dayton, Tenn.) and Marion Duvernay (Publier, France) rounded out the scoring. Britt tied for 50th at 239, while Duvernay ended tied for 47th (236) playing as an individual.
"It's great to get a win on the board right away," added Murray who now has nine wins in three-plus seasons. "We still have a lot of work to do, but it's the way you want to get started."
The Mocs topped a solid field of 14 teams ranked in the top 100 in the country. No. 12 Georgia withdrew due to illness. The Bulldogs played with four players instead of the usual five in the opening two rounds and lost a second player headed into today. UGA was 20 shots behind Chattanooga going into today's round.
Other notable wins include SoCon rivals Furman (24 shots) and Western Carolina (35). 2010 NCAA Regional participants Coastal Carolina, Georgia, East Carolina (24), Florida State, Furman, Georgia State (34) and Texas Tech (42) were in the field.
Chattanooga returns to action this weekend at the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational, March 6-7, in Gainesville, Fla. de Groot is the defending medalist.
LEADERBOARD
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1) Chattanooga
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305-301-290
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896 (+20)
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2) Coastal Carolina
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303-297-305
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905 (+29)
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3) Augusta State
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306-307-296
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909 (+33)
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4) Florida State
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306-300-304
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910 (+34)
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T5) East Carolina
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309-302-309
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920 (+44)
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T5) Furman
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306-312-302
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920 (+44)
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7) Georgia State
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309-307-314
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930 (+54)
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8) Western Carolina
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304-319-308
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931 (+55)
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9) UCF
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311-313-311
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935 (+59)
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T10) Illinois
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313-320-305
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938 (+62)
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T10) Texas Tech
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313-318-307
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938 (+62)
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12) Kennesaw State
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319-317-308
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944 (+68)
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13) Wisconsin
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309-333-312
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954 (+78)
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DNF) No. 12 Georgia
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306-320-WD
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WD
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Mocs:
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2) Yushira Budhram
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79-69-71
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219 (E)
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4) Emma de Groot
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71-77-74
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222 (+3)
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7) Christine Wolf
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77-79-69
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225 (+6)
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T19) Maria Juliana Loza
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78-76-76
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230 (+11)
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T43) Marion Duvernay*
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73-81-82
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236 (+17)
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T50) Jordan Britt
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81-79-79
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239 (+20)
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*Playing as an individual
SAMFORD WOMEN'S GOLF CLAIMS CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE AT 2011 USA LADY JAGUAR INVITATIONAL
--- The Bulldogs' Natalie Mitchell paces the team with a three-round score of 227 ---
MOBILE, Ala. --- The Samford University women's golf team opened its 2011 spring season in brilliant fashion this week as the Bulldogs earned the championship title of the USA Lady Jaguar Invitational held at the Azalea City Golf Course. In Tuesday's final round, Samford secured its first-place finish with a team score of 306.
The Bulldogs closed out the two-day, 54-hole competition with a final score of 914 (300-308-306). The home-standing South Alabama Lady Jaguars and Southern Miss both finished tied for second place with identical three-round totals of 916.
Southern Miss carded a team score of 301 on Tuesday, the best round of the day's competition, but still finished two shots behind Samford for the first-place position. The Bulldogs registered the best round of the tournament as they opened the competition with a first-round total of 300.
Individually, Samford finished with four players ranked in the top 10. True freshman Natalie Mitchell concluded the tournament tied for fourth place in the individual standings as she posted a three-round score of 227 (73-79-75). The Bulldogs' Sarah Butts and Kayla Turner both finished the competition tied for ninth place with identical scores of 230.
Butts, Samford's junior from Carrollton, Ga., carded a third-round score of 76 on Tuesday, while Turner posted a final-round mark of 77 at the Azalea City Golf Course.
Sophomore Anna Heim, the Bulldogs' talented native of Lafayette, La., finished the 2011 USA Lady Jaguar Invitational tied for 10th place in the individual standings with a three-round total of 231 (75-78-78).
The Bulldogs' true freshman Savannah Schubert carded a 54-hole score of 237 (80-78-79). A native of Oak Ridge, Tenn., Schubert finished in a tie for 28th place at the two-day competition.
South Alabama's Kristen Golightly and Ashleigh Ryals placed first and second in the individual standings. Golightly earned a four-stroke victory with a three-round total of 222 (73-74-75), while Ryals finished tied for second place along with Morehead State's Paige Lausier at 226.
The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action March 14-15 as the Bulldogs play host to the annual Samford Invitational to be held at the Limestone Springs Golf Club located in Oneonta, Ala.
Wearn Finishes Third, Paladins Claim Share of Fifth At Kinderlou Forest Challenge
Valdosta, Ga. - Sophomore Laura Wearn posted a final round 74 on Tuesday to claim a third place finish and help the Furman women's goal team to a share of fifth at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge at the par-73 Kinderlou Golf Club in Valdosta, Ga.
Tied for the lead entering the final round, Wearn (74-72-74=220) found herself three-over par through five holes, but the Charlotte, N.C., native played the final 13 holes at two-under to complete tournament play at one-over 220. She finished two strokes behind individual medalist Casey Kennedy (-1) of Augusta State and one stroke behind second place Yushira Budhram (E) of Chattanooga.
Seniors Stefanie Kenoyer (77-79-72=228) and Jackie Hilea (82-79-76=237) fired final rounds of 72 and 76, respectively, to help Furman climb from seventh to fifth place on the final day with a 10-over 302. Kenoyer birdied three holes, including two on the front nine, to improve to a 13th place finish while Hilea's 76 marked her best round of the week.
No. 38 Chattanooga (-1) cruised to the team title finishing 15 strokes ahead of runner-up Coastal Carolina (+13). Augusta State (+33) placed third and Florida State (+34) fourth while Furman and East Carolina tied for fifth at +44.
The Paladins return to the course March 11-13, when they travel to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU Classic.
T5 Furman 306 312 302 920
3 Laura Wearn 74 72 74 220
T13 Stefanie Kenoyer 77 79 72 228
T45 Jackie Hilea 82 79 76 237
T47 Liz Wendt 76 82 80 238
T57 Alexa Rancourt 79 82 80 241
*T50 Aubrie Street 83 80 76 239
* - playing as individual
Women's Golf Finishes Eighth at Kinderlou Forest Challenge
Malin Jansson finishes tied for 26th to lead Catamounts
Valdosta, Ga. - Sophomore Malin Jansson led Western Carolina to an eighth-place finish against a highly competitive field at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge, hosted by Kennesaw State at the par-73, 6,359-yard Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.
WCU finished ahead of five teams which were ranked higher entering the event. The Catamounts, ranked 70th, finished just ahead of Georgia, which was ranked 12th in the Feb. 23 rankings released by GolfStat, while also placing ahead of Illinois (52), Texas Tech (67), Kennesaw State (66) and Wisconsin (51).
Southern Conference-foe, Chattanooga, shot a two-under 290 collectively as a team on Tuesday to rally from second place to overtake Coastal Carolina - which led the through 36 holes - by nine strokes, 896-to-905. Augusta State finished third at 909 with Florida State in third at 910. Rounding out the top five teams was a two-way tie for fifth between Furman and East Carolina, both shooting 920 over the three-day event.
Augusta State's Casey Kennedy held on to claim individual medalist honors, edging second-place Yushira Budhram of UTC by a stroke, 218-to-219. Furman's Laura Wearn slipped from a tie for first entering the final round to third with a one-over 220, while Emma de Groot of UTC finished fourth, just ahead of the two-way tie for fifth between Jessica Alexander and Brittany Henderson, both of Coastal Carolina.
Starting on the par-4 ninth hole on Tuesday, Jansson played the first 12 holes of her final round at two-under with three birdies on the back nine. However, five-consecutive bogies on five of her final six holes relegated her to three-over, 76, for the day. She posted a team-leading 231 in the three-round event.
Senior Josefine Sundh rallied to finish tied for 36th overall, shooting three-over 76 in the final round on Tuesday. Sundh had four scores of bogey or worse with a pair of birdies on the par-3 15th and par-5 18th, finishing with at 234. Junior Rachel Nelson fired a 78 on Tuesday to finish tied for 47th overall, while her classmate Blaire Minter carded a final round five-over 78 to place tied for 54th with teammate Tiffany Schisler with three-round scores of 240.
The women's golf team returns to action on Thursday, March 3 as it teams with the men's squad in the University Cup co-ed challenge event against Appalachian State. It is WCU's first year competing in the head-to-head event at the Mimosa Hills Country Club.