Totland, Furman lead Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore Taylor Totland (-6) fired a second round 68 to grab the individual lead and help Furman (-2) maintain the team lead through two rounds of the 43rd Lady Paladin Invitational on Monday at the par-72, 6,266-yard Furman University Golf Course.
Totland, a native of Tinton Falls, N.J., birdied five holes, including three on the back nine, to take a one-stroke advantage over Yale’s Jennifer Peng (-5) and Wake Forest’s Sierra Sims (-5) through 36 holes. Texas Tech’s Gennai Goodwin (-2) and Wake Forest’s Allison Emrey (-2) are tied for fourth place at 2-under par. Totland’s six-under 138 is the best individual score through the first 36 holes in the history of the Lady Paladin Invitational.
The Paladins hold a nine-stroke advantage over second place Texas Tech (+7) and Wake Forest (+7) entering the final round with Florida State (+11) and Kansas (+11) tied for fourth place.
Senior Laura DeMarco (+3) and freshman Alice Chen (+1) each carded a one-over 73 on Monday, while junior Valentino Romero (E) rounded out the Paladins’ counting scores with a two-over 74.
The teams at this year’s tournament are participating in Birdies for Water to benefit Golf Fore Africa, a 501 (c)(3) founded in 2006 by Furman golf alumna and LPGA Hall of Famer Betsy King. To date GFA has raised over 2.5 million dollars to fund projects in Rwanda, Lesotho, Kenya, Mali, Niger, and Zambia. Currently Golf Fore Africa is raising two million dollars to bring clean water, improved sanitation, and hygiene education to over 100 villages in rural Zambia.
Teams are raising money by securing pledges for each birdie their team members record during the tournament. In Monday’s round, the Furman team raised $2,750, which, when added to Sunday’s total and the $2,580 in flat donations the team secured prior to the tournament, brings the team’s two-day total to over $7,500.
The combined goal off all teams at the tournament is to raise $15,000, which will bring clean water, improved sanitation, and hygiene education to one village. To sponsor the Furman women’s golf team in this endeavor, email coach Kelley Hester at Kelley.Hester@Furman.edu.
Tuesday’s final round is slated for a shotgun start at 9 a.m. The Paladins will tee off of No. 1 and No. 2.
ETSU 12th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Freshman Dominika Czudkova finished with a top-20 effort, but the ETSU women’s golf team dropped off the pace following second round play in the Lady Paladin Invitational Monday at the Furman Golf Club.
While Czudkova carded a round of 4-over-par 76 to tie for 20th, the Buccaneers struggled on the day and posted a score of 310 to drop from a tie for eighth to 12th place on the team leaderboard. Host Furman continues to lead the event, holding a five-stroke advantage over Texas Tech and Wake Forest.
While Furman holds sole possession of first place in the team competition, they also have the top spot individually, as the Paladins’ Taylor Totland stands at 6-under-par 138 and leads Wake Forest’s Sierra Sims and Yale’s Jennifer Peng by one strokes.
Though Czudkova is currently the Bucs’ highest individual performer after the second round, ETSU junior Vivienne Chin actually posted the best individual round of the day with a 2-over-par 74 to move into a tie for 43rd. Meanwhile, sophomore Linda Dobele was the only other ETSU player to finish in the top 50, tying for 48th on the individual leaderboard.
Third-round play is scheduled for Tuesday.
Western Carolina 14th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Redshirt junior Kristin Swindell finished six strokes better in Monday’s second round, firing a 72 as Western Carolina trimmed 10-strokes off its second day total to advance two positions in the team standings. WCU carded a team round of 302 to move into 14th place at the Lady Paladin Invitational being held at the par-72, 6,266-yard Furman University Golf Club.
Paired with golfers from Georgia State and Tulsa, Western Carolina’s scoring five will open the final round between the 12th and 14th holes with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
Swindell countered two bogies with a pair of birdies on the day to shoot even-par on Monday. The Bradenton, Fla., native played the first eight holes of her round even-par before a bogey on the par-4 18th left her one-over at the turn. She birdied both the par-4 third and par-5 sixth to drop to one-under for the round until finishing her second 18 holes with a bogey on the par-4 ninth to shoot 72, giving her a two-day total of 150.
Swindell was tied for third with 14 pars in the second round of the event.
WCU’s first-round leader, sophomore Olivia Landino, improved upon her first round by a stroke, shooting four-over par, 76, for a two-round score of 153. Landino was even at the turn with three birdies against three bogies before playing the front nine at four-over par. She is tied for 53rd overall with a two-day score of 153.
Junior Taylor Allison’s second round was four strokes better, carding a three-over par, 75, for a two-day total of 154 to move into a tie for 57th. Classmate Mariah Hopkins sits in a tie for 77th overall at 159. A third junior, Kim Mitchell, rounds out the Catamount scoring five, two strokes better on Monday to sit tied for 80th overall at 160.
Tournament-host – and first-round leader – Furman continues to lead the 18-team field, stretching its lead over the second-place tie between Wake Forest and Texas Tech to nine strokes. The Lady Paladins shot an even-par, 288, on Monday for a two-day score of 574 while both the Demon Deacons and Red Raiders have identical scores of seven-over par, 583. Kansas and Florida State round out the top five teams in a dead-heat for fourth with matching team scores of 587.
Furman’s Taylor Totland followed-up her opening-round, two-under par, 70, with a four-under round, 68, on Monday to move to the top of the individual leaderboard with a 36-hole score of 138. Sierra Sims of Wake Forest and Yale’s Jennifer Peng are one stroke back at five-under par, 139, tied for the runner-up position.
The final round gets underway with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
UNCG 17th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The UNCG sophomore women’s golfer Kristen Powers carded the Spartans’ lowest round Monday in day two of the three-day, 54-hole Lady Paladin Invitational at the Furman University Golf Club. Powers posted a 3-over par 75 in round two to help the Spartans hold on to 17th place overall in the team standings.
The Spartans will tell off in the final round Tuesday with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. from holes No. 15-17. Live scoring will be available via www.birdiefire.com. Tournament host Furman leads after 36 holes at 2-under par 574 (286-288), holding a nine-stroke lead over Texas Tech and Wake Forest. Individually, Furman’s Taylor Tutland leads at 6-under par 138 (70-68), one-stroke in front of Jennifer Pong of Yale and Sierra Sims of Wake Forest.
Powers sits in a tie for 80th place after carding four birdies and eight pars Monday afternoon and is 16-over par 160 (85-75) on the event. Junior Sammie Buchanan (Bluffton, S.C./Bluffton) is the top Spartan on the leaderboard in a tie for 53rd place overall. Buchanan posted a 5-over par 77 in round two to go along with a 4-under par 76 in round one for a 36-hole score of 9-over par 153.
Junior Jessica Madsen tallied her best round of the young season on day one with a 7-over par 79 and followed that up with an 11-over par 83 Monday. She is tied for 87th place overall at 18-over par 163. Senior Berglind Bjornsdottir is 19-over par 163 (84-79) while classmate Andrea Rangel is 22-over par 166 (88-78). Rangel’s 6-over par 78 is tied for her career-low score, matching a 78 set in the final round of the Starmount Forest Invitational in 2012.
Joining UNCG in the field includes Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, ETSU, Florida State, Furman, Georgia State, Kansas, Kennesaw State, North Carolina, Samford, Southern Miss, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Wofford, Wake Forest, Western Carolina and Yale.