Western Carolina rallies to finish third at Jack Kirk Panther Intercollegiate
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. – Catamount junior Kim Mitchell carded a second consecutive round of 1-over-par 73 over Tuesday’s final 18 holes to lead Western Carolina to a third-place showing at the John Kirk / Panther Intercollegiate held at the par-72, 6,109-yard Eagle’s Landing Country Club.
Mitchell finished tied for seventh overall for her first top-10 finish of the season and the second of her WCU career.
The third-place tally was the fifth top-10 finish for Western Carolina this year and the second top-five showing between the two semesters. The other was a first-place team championship at the home Great Smokies Intercollegiate in the 2014-15 season-opener.
Mitchell advanced two spots in the final standings over the last round. Opening on the par-3 fourth, the Woodbridge, Va., native countered three bogeys with a birdie to sit 2-over-par through nine holes on Tuesday. Including a birdie on her 10th hole of the round, Mitchell had two birdies against one additional bogey to shoot 1-under-par over her final nine for the round of 73.
With a par-5 scoring average of 3-under, Mitchell was tied with three others for the second-best performance on the par-5 holes.
Mitchell’s three-day score of 223 (77-73-73) matched her WCU-career, 54-hole low score, tying her first-ever tournament for the Purple & Gold at the 2013-14 season-opening Golfweek Challenge.
Olivia Landino finished among a three-way tie for 17th overall, recording a final-round score of 4-over-par 76. The Hermitage, Pa., product had seven bogeys and three birdies on Tuesday, finishing the tournament with eight birdies. She rallied from an opening-day score of 80 to post rounds of 74 and 76 for a three-day total of 230.
Landino was among the tournament leaders in par-3 scoring, shooting even par (3.00) on the shortest layouts to rank tied for second.
Sophomore Bethany Galloway was WCU’s biggest gainer on the final day, rallying 18 spots in the final standings to post in a tie for 22nd overall. The Charlotte, N.C., product shot 4-over-par 76 on Tuesday for a total of 232 – her career-best 54-hole tournament score. Galloway charted five bogeys and one birdie in the final round. Galloway finished with 36 pars in the tournament, the fourth-most among the 83-golfer field.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five was junior Mariah Hopkins in a tie for 29th at 233, with sophomore Ashley Thompson coming home 63rd with a score of 243. Hopkins carded three bogeys and two double-bogeys in shooting 7-over 79, while Thompson had her best round over the final 18 holes with a 6-over-par 78.
Troy carded a tournament-low team round of 288 on Tuesday to cruise to a five-stroke win over runner-up Middle Tennessee, 892-897. WCU was third at 917, with Eastern Kentucky (919) and host Georgia State (920) rounding out the top five teams.
Fatima Fern Cano of Troy claimed individual medalist honors by seven strokes over second-place finisher Maggie Simmermache from Old Dominion, as the duo recorded three-round scores of 210 and 217, respectively.
Western Carolina returns to action at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate on April 5-6. The 36-hole tournament hosted by Appalachian State at the Mimosa Hills Country Club represents WCU’s final tune-up before the 2015 Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship on April 12-14.