Women's Golf Southern Conference

Monday's Women's Golf Roundup

Neumann, College of Charleston lead Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Freshman Julia Neumann made four birdies on the front nine to shoot 1-under par to keep the College of Charleston women’s golf team out in front of the pack after the second day of tournament play at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic held on Monday at Cougar Point and Oak Point Golf Courses at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

The Cougars own a four-stroke advantage leading into Tuesday’s final round with a combined two-round score of 596 (+20), ahead of second-place and No. 36-ranked Campbell (+24) and third-place Richmond (+29).

Neumann carded a 71 at Oak Point after being tied for 10th in Sunday’s opening round with a 74 (+2). She is one of four CofC players currently in the top 20 individually along with freshmen Stacey Tomlinson and Louise Olsson, who sit in a six-way tie for 20th at 8-over, and Mary Chandler Bryan, who is competing as an individual and tied for 11th at +6.

Tomlinson and St. John’s Harin Lee shared the top spot of the leaderboard Sunday at 2-under.

Senior Kathy Boehm turned in a two-round score of 153 (+9) and is tied for 26th.

UNCG’s Fanny Cnops, who won individual medalist honors at the Kiawah Island Classic in 2012, shot the second-lowest round of the tournament with a 69, while Campbell’s Brooke Bellomy, who is tied for first with Neumann and Richmond’s Tracy Martin, fired a 68 in slightly warmer conditions than the mid-50s climate on both courses in the first round.

Tournament play concludes Tuesday with shot-gun starts at 9 a.m. (ET) at both Cougar Point and Oak Point. The top 18 teams will compete at Cougar Point, while teams 19 through 32 will play at Oak Point in a flight championship format.

 

UNCG rockets up to sixth at Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – UNCG sophomore women’s golfer Fanny Cnops moved up 30 spots to fourth overall, just one off the lead in the individual standings, Monday as she fired a 3-under par 69 on day two of the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic.

Cnops’ play helped the Spartans as a team move up seven places with a team score of 299, tied for the lowest score of the afternoon. The Spartans currently sit in sixth place with a 613 (314-299) while tournament host the College of Charleston hold the 36-hole lead with a 596 (292-304).

Cnops started her round with nine straight pars on the back nine of the Oaks Course at Kiawah Island. After posting a bogey on hole No. 1 (her 10th hole of the day), she made her move up the leader board, notching birdies in four out of five holes from Nos. 3-7.

Cnops sits in a tie for fourth overall at 2-over par (146) with 18 holes left to play Tuesday. She trails three players tied at 1-over par (145) heading into the final round in Campbell’s Brooke Bellomy, Richmond’s Tracy Martin and the College of Charleston’s Julia Neumann. Her score of 69 was one of just three rounds under par Monday and is her second-lowest single-round score of the year.

Freshman Sammie Buchanan continued her solid play as she posted a 5-over par 77 on day two. She enters the final round tied for 26th place with a score 153 after posting a 76 on day one. Senior Courtney Taylor also turned in another strong outing as she carded a 5-over par 77 for the second straight day to place 36th overall with a 154.

Sophomore Berglind Bjornsdottir rebounded from a tough first round to post the Spartans’ second-lowest score of the second round with a 4-over par 76.

Cnops and the Spartans head into the final day within striking distance of both the individual and team titles on a course they have had recent success playing. Cnops is the defending champion of the Kiawah Island Classic as she claimed the top spot last season firing a 2-under par 214 (72-71-71) to win by one stroke. Cnops’ play helped the Spartans post a second-place team finish in the event with an 899 (307-297-295).

The Spartans also won the team and individual titles on the same course at the Palmetto Intercollegiate last year. UNCG set the school record for a 54-hole event, carding an 875 (293-290-292) to break the record by 15 strokes. Additionally, Cnops’ individual title set the school record as she posted a 7-under par (70-72-67).

As one of the top 18 teams in the 32-team field, the Spartans will conclude the 33rd annual Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic on Tuesday afternoon returning to the Cougar Point Golf Course to battle for the title. The Cougar Point Golf Course is playing as the tougher of the two courses through the first two days as players own an 81.08 stroke average through 170 rounds, while notching an 80.50 average on the Oaks Course in 172 rounds.

 

Elon ninth at Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Kathryn Buckingham continued to pace the Elon women's golf team through its second round of play at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic on Monday.  Buckingham's performance helped the Phoenix (310-306--616) to a ninth-place standing with a round to play.

Buckingham began her second round of play on the back nine of the Oak Point course and finished her first half of the round at 4-over.  She carded six pars and a birdie over her final nine holes to end the round with a 77.  Combined with her first-round mark of 75, Buckingham will enter Tuesday's final round in a tie for 20th out of the 172 participants with a score of 152.

Martyna Mierzwa and Emily Brooks are in a tie for 36th through two rounds with scores of 154.  Mierzwa (76-78) had one birdie during her second 18 holes.  Brooks knocked 10 strokes off of her first-round mark of 82 to fire a round of par on Monday.  During her second 18 holes, Brooks had five birdies.

In a tie for 56th is Sunna Vidisdottir, who has a two-round score of 157 (78-79).  Finally, Katie Partridge sits in a tie for 79th with a mark of 160 (81-79).  She had one birdie on Monday.

With one round to play, there is a three-way tie atop the individual leaderboard.  Campbell's Brooke Bellomy, College of Charleston's Julia Neumann and Richmond's Tracy Martin are all sitting at a 1-over 145.  Seven golfers sit within four strokes of the leaders.

The top two in the team standings remained the same following the second round as host College of Charleston (292-304=596) continues to lead Campbell (301-299=600).  The rest of the top five includes Richmond (306-299=605), Troy (302-308=610) and Daytona State (302-310=612).

Elon is just four strokes back of the top five teams.  Between the Phoenix and the fifth spot are UNCG (314-299=613), Jacksonville State (312-302=614) and Oral Roberts (312-303=615).

The Phoenix leads fellow Southern Conference members Samford (12th, 625), Wofford (T-15th, 630) and The Citadel (30th, 683) in the 32-team event.

The top 18 teams, including Elon, will compete on the Cougar Point course beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.  The remainder of the programs will finish the tournament on the Oak Point course.

 

Wofford tied for 15th at Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Wofford women’s golf team sits tied for 15th out of 32 teams at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate at the Oak Point and Cougar Point golf courses after two rounds of play.

Wofford opened the first 36 holes with a 314 and shot a 316 for a team score of 630 after two rounds.  Host College of Charleston holds the top spot on the leaderboard with a 596, followed by Campbell, 600, and Richmond, 605.

Lauren Dunbar and Anne Marie Covar lead Wofford with scores of 156 each. Dunbar shot two rounds of 78, while Covar shot a 77 and a 79.  Alex Hendricks carded an 81-76=157, and Elizabeth Thompson finished with a 78-83=161.  Maegan Higgins has an 81-83=164 after 36 holes.

Campbell’s Brooke Bellomy holds the individual 36-hole lead with a 77-68=145.

Wofford will play the final 18 holes Tuesday.