Totland, Furman win Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman’s Taylor Totland (-7) captured individual medalist honors with a final-round 71 and the Paladins (-4) fired a 4-under-par 860 over three rounds to claim the Lady Paladin Invitational title on Tuesday at the par-72, 6,266-yard Furman University Golf Course.
Totland’s three-round total of 209, the best 54-hole score in tournament history, propelled her to a five-stroke victory. Yale’s Jennifer Peng finished in second place at 2-under, while Allison Emery of Wake Forest claimed third place at 1-under.
The Paladins’ three-round total of 860 shattered the previous tournament low of 865, set by Wisconsin last season. Furman finished 22 strokes in front of second place Wake Forest (+18), with Texas Tech (+19), Florida State (+25), Yale (+28) and Kansas (+28) rounding out the top five finishers in the 18-team field.
Senior Laura DeMarco paced the Paladins in final round play with six birdies to card a 2-under 70 and finish in a tie with teammates Alice Chen and Valentina Romero for seventh place. Chen shot even-par over the final round, while Romero fired a 1-over 73. Totland birdied three of her first seven holes on Tuesday to shoot a 3-under on the front nine and strengthen her lead.
The teams at this year’s tournament participated 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 to fund projects in Rwanda, Lesotho, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Zambia. Currently, Golf Fore Africa is raising $2 million to bring clean water, improved sanitation ,and hygiene education to more than 100 villages in rural Zambia.
Teams raised money by securing pledges for each birdie their team members recorded during the tournament. The Furman team raised $9,697, while the teams combined to raise more than $23,800, eclipsing the tournament goal of $15,000, the amount needed to bring clean water, improved sanitation, and hygiene education to one village. To sponsor the Paladin women’s golf team in this endeavor, email coach Kelley Hester at Kelley.Hester@Furman.edu.
Furman will compete at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate in Knoxville, Tenn., Oct. 17-19.
ETSU finishes 11th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – For the second straight day, junior Vivienne Chin posted a team-best score of 2-over-par 74 and ultimately ended as the top ETSU women’s golfer on the individual leaderboard following Tuesday’s third and final round play in the Lady Paladin Invitational at the Furman Golf Club.
Chin, who tied for 27th, and the rest of her Buccaneer teammates finished the event with a third-round score of 305 and placed 11th in the team competition.
Along with Chin, other ETSU results included a tie for 48th by freshman Dominika Czudkova, a tie for 54th by sophomore Linda Dobele and a tie for 64th by Allyson Dunn.
The Bucs will return to action on Friday, Oct. 17. at the Mercedes Benz Championship in Knoxville, Tenn.
Samford finishes 12th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Samford University women’s golf team turned in its best total team score of the young 2014 fall season Tuesday as the Bulldogs registered a three-day, 54-hole mark of 914 (310-294-310) at the Lady Paladin Invitational held at the par-72, 6,266-yard Furman University Golf Course.
Samford finished the challenging 18-team tournament in sole possession of 12th place, but third amongst Southern Conference opponents. Host school Furman (286-288-286=860) ran away with the competition on its home course and defeated second-place Wake Forest (288-295-299=882) by 22 strokes.
Texas Tech, Florida State, Yale and Kansas all rounded out the top five. Texas Tech and Florida State finished third and fourth, respectively, while Yale and Kansas tied for the fifth position at 892.
ETSU came in as the second-ranked SoCon finisher with a score of 913 (298-310-305). The Buccaneers’ tally proved to be just one stroke better than Samford’s.
The Bulldogs’ ultimate mark of 914 was their best score of the 2014 campaign. Two weeks ago, Samford tallied a 916 at the season-opening FedEx Memphis Intercollegiate Tournament held in Germantown, Tenn.
Individually, sophomore Sydney Needham paced the Bulldogs with a three-round, 54-hole total of 224 (74-76-74). She tied for 22nd place in the individual standings.
Emily Stallings, the Bulldogs’ senior native of Fayetteville, Ga., carded a three-day total of 227 (74-75-78) and ended the tournament tied for 36th place.
Samford’s Bailey Gray turned in the team’s best round of the tournament with a blistering 2-under-par 70 on Monday. The Bulldogs’ native of Trussville, Ala., finished with a 54-hole tally of 229 (81-70-78) and was followed in scoring by teammates Arin Eddy (81-73-82=236) and Kate Collom (83-79-80=242).
The Samford University women’s golf team will next be in action Sunday as the Bulldogs head to Anniston, Ala., for the 2014 Chris Bannister Classic, which will be hosted by Jacksonville State University at the Silver Lakes Golf Club, Sept. 28-30.
Western Carolina finishes 15th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Western Carolina slipped one place in the final standings on Tuesday to finish 15th overall as a team at the Lady Paladin Invitational held at the par-72, 6,266-yard Furman University Golf Club. WCU fired a final-round 307 for a three-day total of 921 in the squad’s first 54-hole tournament of the season.
The Catamounts were led by redshirt junior Kristin Swindell, who finished tied for 36th overall with a three-round score of 227. The Bradenton, Fla., native shot 5-over-par 77 over the final 18 holes of the event. Sophomore Olivia Landino placed in a tie for 57th overall with a three-day ledger of 232, pacing WCU after the first round. Landino charted three birdies on Tuesday giving her a team-best nine for the tournament, while Swindell paced the Catamounts with 34 pars.
Junior Mariah Hopkins carded the lowest final round for the Purple & Gold at two-over-par 74, closing the event with a three-day score of 233 in a tie for 59th overall. On Tuesday, the Greensboro, N.C., native carded three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 13th, combining to shoot 3-under par on the back nine against a 5-over-par front nine.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five on Tuesday were junior Taylor Allison in a tie for 67th overall after a final round 81 left her at 235 for the event, while classmate Kim Mitchell placed tied for 73rd, closing with her best round of the tournament, 77. Mitchell was 1-under par on the par-4 holes and even-par on the par-3 holes in the final round.
Western Carolina returns to action in mid-October with the JU Classic, hosted by Jacksonville University at the Marsh Landing Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The three-round tournament is scheduled for 36 holes on Monday, Oct. 13, with the final round on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
UNCG finishes 17th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The UNCG women’s golf team wrapped up play Tuesday at the Lady Paladin Invitational, finishing 17th overall in the team standings at the Furman University Golf Club.
The Spartans return to action next week as they host their annual fall tournament Monday and Tuesday with the UNCG Forest Oaks Fall Classic. The event will be held at the Forest Oaks Country Club with 36 holes being played Monday and 18 holes played Tuesday.
Junior Sammie Buchanan was the Spartans’ top finisher at 14-over-par 230, placing 50th overall. Buchanan was consistent all week long as she carded scores of 76-77-77 in the three rounds. Junior Jessica Madsen was second on the team with a 26-over-par 242, as she opened with a 79 in round one before posting an 83 and 80 in the final two rounds.
Sophomore Kristen Powers and senior Berglind Bjornsdottir finished tied for 87th place overall with 27-over-par 243 scores. Powers recorded scores of 85-75-83, while Bjornsdottir finished the event with scores of 84-79-80. Senior Andrea Rangel rounded out the Spartans’ scores with a 249 (88-78-83) in her first event of the season.
Wofford finishes 18th at Lady Paladin Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford women’s golf team completed its first fall tournament of the 2014-15 season on Tuesday, finishing 18th at the Lady Paladin Invitational, hosted by Furman at the Furman University Golf Course.
The 18-team, 96-player field was stacked with some of the top golf programs from around the country. It featured six teams ranked inside the Golfweek top 50, including No. 25 North Carolina, No. 29 Wake Forest, No. 31 Florida State, No. 38 Kansas, No. 45 East Carolina and No. 46 ETSU.
The Terriers posted a three-round score of 90-over-par 954. Senior Lauren Dubar earned Wofford’s best finish in a tie for 64th at 18-over 234. Sophomore Katy Funk and freshman Lela Oakley tied for 82nd at 26-over, followed by freshman Nicole Chin in 87th at 27-over and junior Maegan Higgins in 93rd at 31-over.
Furman won its home tournament with a winning total of 4-under 860, finishing 22 strokes ahead of second-place Wake Forest (+22). Taylor Totland added to Furman’s day by winning the individual title at 7-under 209.
The Wofford women’s golf team has a week off before its next tournament. The Terriers pick back up Oct. 6-7 in Maineville, Ohio, at the TBC River’s Bend Bearcat Classic.