Jen Jones/MercerBears.com

Women's Golf

Mercer finishes third at Callaway Gardens Invite

The Bears went 1-under-par in the final round

PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. – The Mercer women's golf team finished strong in its first tournament of the fall, combining to go 1-under par in the final round en route to a third-place finish at the Callaway Gardens Invite, hosted by South Alabama, at the Callaway Gardens Lake View on Wednesday.
 
Tracy Rodriguez paced the Bears for the third consecutive day, carding a 3-under par 68. The Nimes, France, native was 7-under par throughout the final two rounds as she finished in second place just one stroke behind the medalist. It was the first top-10 finish of her career.
 
Additionally, Payton Schanen and Laila Hrindova rebounded nicely after the first round to both earn a top-20 finish, tying for 12th and 17th, respectively. Hrindova recorded the first eagle of the season for the Bears on the 12th hole in today's final round.
  
Mercer Scorecard
3 Mercer 303 285 283 +19 871
2 Tracy Rodriguez 73 67 68 -5 208
T12 Payton Schanen 77 71 71 +6 219
T17 Laila Hrindova 78 73 70 +8 221
T33 Lauren Lightfritz 77 74 74 +12 225
T45 Laura Pasalodos 76 77 74 +16 229
T57 Eujin Pyon 80 75 83 +23 236
 
COACH DRINKARD'S TAKE
"Tracy played great this week. She hit a boat load of greens and gave herself numerous good looks at birdie. She really did accomplish a lot this week. Her second-place finish was her first Top 5 finish, and her 67 was her lowest collegiate score to date. Her future is very bright!
 
"As for the team score, I feel like we played two different tournaments in the span of three days. After our disaster of a start on Monday, they really flipped the switch and turned the tournament around. It was a gutty team performance, and we can use this experience to motivate us and build upon."
 
Up Next
Mercer returns to action on Nov. 9-10 when it hosts the Mercer Invitational at the Brickyard Golf Club.