Brooks leads, Elon third at JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational
ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Paced by a 3-under-par by Emily Brooks, the Elon women's golf team sits in third place following the first round of the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational with a score of 293.
Brooks began her day on the back nine and put up pars on each of her first four holes before notching a birdie on the par-four 14th hole. She would finish the back nine at 1-under before carding birdies on three out of her final nine holes to finish with a 69 to share the individual lead with UNCG's Berglind Bjornsdottir.
With a 1-over par 73 on day one, Kathryn Buckingham ended the round tied for 12th out of 92 participants. Buckingham notched birdies on both the par-4 12th and par-4 third holes over her round.
Sunna Vidisdottir also had two pars on the day - the par-4 third and par-5 seventh - on her way to a 3-over 75 on day one. Vidisdottir sits in a tie for 34th.
Both Kelsey Badmaev and Katie Partridge are tied for 44th following a first-round mark of 75. Badmaev carded birdies on one and two, while Partridge went 1-under on 13 and 16.
Competing as an individual, Taylor Wilkerson shot a 79 and is tied for 66th after day one. She tallied one birdie on the day.
Pacing the 16-team field after day one is Delaware. The Blue Hens finished with a score of 291 to lead Georgia State (292) by one stroke.
The Phoenix, sitting third, is just two strokes back of the leader.
Western Carolina (295) and Southern Illinois (296) round out the top five teams.
Besides Western Carolina, three other SoCon teams are represented in the field. Wofford (T-6th, 300) Samford (T-10th, 303) and UNCG (T-13th, 306).
Round two will be played at the Eagle Landing Golf Club on Saturday.
Western Carolina fourth at JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational
ORANGE PARK, Fla. – The Western Carolina women’s golf team carded an opening-round 295 to sit in fourth place, just four strokes off the pace at the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational at the par-72, 6,282-yard, Eagle Landing Golf Club. Catamount sophomore Kim Mitchell posted an even-par 72 to lead the WCU scoring five, three strokes in arrears of the tournament leaders.
The second round gets under way with tee times at 8 a.m. on both the front and back nine. WCU’s golfers tee off on the front nine beginning at 8:45 a.m., with the two Catamount individuals going off the back nine beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Mitchell countered two bogeys with a pair of birdies on Friday, moving to 1-under-par six holes into her opening round. She made the turn at 1-under before a bogey on the par-5 10th moved her back to even. A birdie on the par-4 11th kept her at 1-under for the round before a second bogey on the par-3 16th moved her back to even, tied with five others for sixth.
Fresh off her runner-up finish at the UNF Intercollegiate, redshirt sophomore Kristin Swindell is tied for 12th after shooting 1-over par 73. Playing in her home state of Florida, the Bradenton native twice shot bogey on the front nine, only to rebound with a birdies each time. A bogey on the par-5 10th left her at 1-over as she shot even-par the final eight holes.
Sophomore Taylor Allison and freshman Olivia Landino turned in rounds of 3-over-par 75 to both stand tied for 34th in the 93-golfer field. Allison charted a trio of bogeys on Friday, while Landino opened play 2-under-par through seven holes only to finish with a pair of double-bogeys and one bogey in her final 11 for the 3-over 73.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five was sophomore Mariah Hopkins, shooting 5-over-par 77 to sit in a nine-way tie for 51st overall.
Playing unattached as individuals, WCU freshman Ashley Thompson shot 5-over-par 77 to match her teammate Hopkins, while freshman Bethany Galloway is tied for 73rd overall with a first-round 81.
Wofford sixth at JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational
ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Junior Lauren Dunbar fired an even-par 72 and the Wofford College women's golf team sits in a tie for sixth place after Friday's opening round of the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational.
The tournament is being hosted by James Madison University at the par-72, 6,282-yard Eagle Landing Golf Club. Sixteen teams and 93 individuals are competing in the three-day, 54-hole tournament.
Dunbar is tied for sixth individually and was strong the whole day, carding 16 pars, one birdie and one bogey. After beginning her round with a bogey on the first, she made par on 13 straight holes before sinking a birdie on the par-4, 370-yard 15th. The 72 was Dunbar's second-lowest round of the year – she shot a 71 in the fall at the Lady Paladin Invitational.
Dunbar is three shots back of tournament leaders Emily Brooks of Elon and Berglind Bjornsdottir of UNCG. Each shot a 3-under 69.
Delaware leads the team competition with an opening-round 3-over-par 291. The Terriers are nine shots back after carding a team score of 12-over 300, along with host James Madison. Georgia State (+4), Elon (+5), Western Carolina (+7) and Southern Illinois (+8) round out the top five.
Wofford also got solid scores from freshman Katy Funk and sophomore Maegan Higgins. The two Terriers each shot a 2-over 74 and posted a pair of bogey-free, 1-under 35s on the back nine. Funk and Higgins are tied for 23rd place.
Senior Anne Marie Covar started her day well and was 2-under-par through four holes. She suffered four bogeys, two double-bogeys and a triple-bogey through the remainder of the round to wind up with an 8-over 80. Freshman Allyson Markiewicz came in with a 10-over 82.
Round two of the JMU Eagle Landing Invitational will begin Saturday at 8 a.m. The Terriers begin teeing off in the sixth group at 8:45 a.m.
Bjornsdottir leads, UNCG tied for 13th at JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational
ORANGE PARK, Fla. – UNCG junior women’s golfer Berglind Bjornsdottir holds the individual lead after round one of the JMU/Eagle Invitational on Friday at the Eagle Landing Golf Club. The Spartans are tied for 13th place overall with a first-round score of 18-over-par 306.
Round two begins Tuesday with the Spartans’ tee times set for 8:45-9:21 a.m. for the second of three rounds.
Bjornsdottir is tied for the lead with Emily Brooks of Elon after posting a career-low score of 3-under 69 Friday. Her 69 score is the first of her career under par and three shots better than her previous low mark of 72 set on two occasions, once as a freshman at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate and once last season at the Cougar Classic. She posted five birdies and only two bogeys on the round to go along with her 11 pars.
Sophomore Sammie Buchanan also had a strong first-round score, as she is tied for sixth place overall. Buchanan posted an even-par 72 in round one and is tied with five other golfers at even-par, three shots off the lead. She posted three birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey on the afternoon to go along with her 13 par scores.
Bjornsdottir and Buchanan give the Spartans two players in the top six of the tournament, joining only first-round leader Delaware with that distinction. The Blue Hens lead the event with a 3-over-par 291, while Georgia State was second with a 292 and Elon was third with a 293.
Chattanooga 11th at 3M Jaguar Invitational
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team got off to a tough start at the 3M Jaguar Intercollegiate. The Mocs shot a season-high 325 at Forest Hills Golf Course in the event’s opening 18.
Senior Jordan Britt is low for her squad. She’s tied for eighth at 4-over-par 76. She’s three shots off the pace set by Samantha Postillion (Illinois) and Lacey Fears (Mercer) at plus-1.
Britt bogeyed four of her first eight holes before a birdie four on the par-5 ninth. She registered two more birdies on the way in to end up at 4-over. She was joined on the counting cards by the trio of Porsche Campbell, Emily McLennan and Agathe Sauzon, with each carding an 83.
It was a tough day overall for the 75-player field. The average score was 81.24 individually and a shade over 320 for the teams. No. 14 Vanderbilt is the early leader shooting 299. East Tennessee State is second at 309, while Illinois’ 311 put it in third.
The second round is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m. as a shotgun start. Chattanooga, Purdue and Lamar are paired together, starting on holes 12-15.
Furman 12th at SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore Stephanie Carlozzi (+2) fired a 72 to tie for seventh Friday in the opening day of the 42nd Annual SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational at the par-70 6,002-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida.
Carlozzi, who notched a birdie on No. 6, finished the opening round just three strokes behind leader Karolina Vickova of Florida, who shot a 69 in Friday’s round.
Paladin sophomore Valentina Romero (+4) carded a 74 in the first round to tie for 25th place, while freshman Taylor Totland (+10) tied for 65th place after recording an 80 in Friday’s round. Junior Laura Demarco (+11), who birdied the opening hole, finished the opening round tied with senior Aubrie Street (+11) for 67th place after the Furman duo each tallied an 81 for the day.
No. 30 Ohio State (+12) and No. 42 Florida State (+12) each registered a 292 to lead the team competition following one day of play, just one stroke ahead of Penn State (+13). No. 12 Arizona (+14) and No. 29 Virginia (+14) are tied for fourth, while Furman (+27) is in 12th place following one round of competition.
The Paladins tee off of No. 10 beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The 54-hole tournament will conclude with a shot gun start at 9 a.m. on Sunday.