Western Carolina sixth at Jack Kirk Panther Intercollegiate
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. – Western Carolina junior Kim Mitchell improved upon her opening-round score by four strokes on Monday, carding a team-low 1-over par 73 to move into a tie for ninth place overall as the Catamounts slipped to sixth in the team standings after 36 holes.
Morning lightning forced the second round to go off with a shotgun start rather than the scheduled tee times. Tuesday’s final round will also have a shotgun start with golfers hitting the course at 9 a.m. Paired with golfers from Troy and Old Dominion, the Catamount scoring five open the final 18 holes between the fourth and sixth holes.
WCU’s Mitchell was among the biggest movers on day two of competition, advancing 15 places in the individual standings. The Woodbridge, Va., native was tied for 24th after an opening-round 77 on Sunday but moved inside the top 10 to pace the Catamounts.
Opening on the par-4 fifth, Mitchell was 3-over-par through her first eight holes before carding the first of three birdies on the par-5 13th on the ninth hole of her second round. A bogey on the par-4 14th left Mitchell 3-over-par with eight holes to play, but she finished the round strong. Mitchell carded back-to-back birdies on the par-4 second and par-5 third to move back to 1-over 73 for the day and 150 for the tournament.
Sophomore Olivia Landino was six strokes better in her second round, gaining 24 positions in the standings to move into the clubhouse amidst an 11-way tie for 18th overall. A product of Hermitage, Pa., Landino countered four bogeys and one double-bogey with four birdies to shoot 2-over-par 74. Her two-day tally is 154.
Landino is among the tournament leaders in par-3 scoring, shooting even-par (3.00) on those holes.
WCU’s two individual leaders after the first round – junior Mariah Hopkins and sophomore Bethany Galloway – slipped into ties for 18th and 40th, respectively. Hopkins slid nine spots with an 8-over-par 80 in the second round for a two-day total of 154, while Galloway carded a 10-over-par 82 on Monday to hold a score of 156.
Mitchell, Landino and Hopkins each have a team-leading five birdies through the first two rounds.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five is sophomore Ashley Thompson, in a three-way tie for 71st overall after rounds of 82 and 83 for a 36-hole score of 165.
Middle Tennessee State advanced three positions in the team standings on Monday to move to the tournament lead with a two-day score of 600. The Blue Raiders lead second-place Morehead State (603) by three strokes while first-round leader Troy slipped into a two-way tie for third, with host Georgia State four strokes off the pace at 604.
Old Dominion rounds out the top five teams with a score of 611, just three strokes ahead of WCU in sixth.
Troy’s Fatima Fern Cano and Lauren Court of Georgia State are tied atop the individual leader board after 36 holes with matching scores of 143. The duo leads third-place Jeannette Petersen (145) of Morehead State by two strokes.