NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Furman shot a 15-over-par 303 in Tuesday’s third round to move four strokes clear of Wofford and claim the team title at the 2022 Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship, which was contested at Barefoot Landing Resort’s par-72, 6,004-yard Dye Course. Chattanooga’s Dorota Zalewska was the only player to finish under par for the tournament, claiming the individual title at 1-under 215.
Both Furman and Zalewska clinched automatic berths to the NCAA regionals. The NCAA field will be announced live on Wednesday, April 27, at 4 p.m. (ET), on the Golf Channel.
Tuesday began with the completion of the second round, which was halted by darkness Sunday evening and delayed a day due to inclement weather Monday. Wofford completed its charge up the leaderboard in the second round, jumping up from fifth into a tie for first with Furman after two full rounds. Both sat at 20-over 596 after the Terriers turned in a 294 for the only sub-300 score in the second round.
The Paladins pulled back in front in the third round, riding a trio of top-10 individual finishes to their 19
th SoCon title and first since a run of five straight from 2015-19. Round-one and round-two leader Sophia Burnett finished fourth at 5-over 221, 2021 individual champion Sarah-Eve Rhéaume finished eighth at 8-over 224 and Anna Morgan tied for ninth at 9-over 225.
Chattanooga’s Zalewska was steady throughout, sitting third after a first-round 1-under 71, moving into a tie for second with a 1-over 73 in the second round and finishing with another 71 to claim her third career individual title and second straight after finishing the regular season with a win at the Brickyard Collegiate. The junior from Szczecin, Poland, was one stroke ahead of playing partner and eventual runner-up Becca Earl from Wofford as the pair stepped up to the 17
th tee in the final round, and Zalewska aced the par-3, 110-yard hole to give herself a two-shot cushion after Earl birdied the hole. After Earl chipped in for another birdie on 18 to finish even for the day, Zalewska converted a 5-foot par putt to lock up the one-stroke win.
The title was the seventh SoCon individual championship for Chattanooga, with the last coming in 2019 by Monica San Juan.
Wofford turned in its best-ever finish, placing second at 39-over 903. Earl also picked up the Terriers’ best-ever individual finish, shooting an even-par 216 for the second-place showing. Earl turned in the best round of the tournament in the second round, shooting a 5-under 67 to erase Sunday’s opening-round 5-over 77.
Mercer turned in its second straight third-place team finish, five strokes back of Wofford. The Bears’ Kate Song tied for fifth at 7-over 223.
Chattanooga climbed two spots up the leaderboard to finish fourth, two strokes back of Mercer, after a 10-over 298 in the third round, the best team score of the round. Esme Hamilton joined Zalewska in the top 10, tying for ninth at 9-over 225.
ETSU was fifth in the team standings, with Hollie Muse finishing third at 4-over 220 and Sera Hasegawa three strokes back in a tie for fifth.
Western Carolina was sixth and saw Elizabeth Lohbauer tie for fifth at 223, while UNCG, Samford and The Citadel rounded out the team standings.
Furman’s Morgan claimed the SoCon Pinnacle Award, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.
2022 Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship
Dye Course at Barefoot Landing Resort
Par 72, 6,004 yards
North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Team results
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Total (to par)
1. Furman 293 303 303 899 (+35)
2. Wofford 302 294 307 903 (+39)
3. Mercer 293 312 303 908 (+44)
4. Chattanooga 301 311 298 910 (+46)
5. ETSU 296 314 303 913 (+49)
6. Western Carolina 304 306 309 919 (+55)
7. UNCG 304 311 310 925 (+61)
8. Samford 311 306 309 926 (+62)
9. The Citadel 319 335 339 993 (+129)
Individual leaders
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Total (to par)
1. Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga 71 73 71 215 (-1)
2. Becca Earl, Wofford 77 67 72 216 (E)
3. Hollie Muse, ETSU 73 75 72 220 (+4)
4. Sophia Burnett, Furman 70 72 79 221 (+5)
T5. Elizabeth Lohbauer, Western Carolina 75 75 73 223 (+7)
T5. Sera Hasegawa, ETSU 71 79 73 223 (+7)
T5. Kate Song, Mercer 72 75 76 223 (+7)
8. Sarah-Eve Rhéaume, Furman 75 75 74 224 (+8)
T9. Esme Hamilton, Chattanooga 73 77 75 225 (+9)
T9. Anna Morgan, Furman 71 79 75 225 (+9)
-www.SoConSports.com-