Furman third at Palmetto Intercollegiate
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Furman senior Valentina Romero (-2) fired a 70 Sunday to tie for third place individually and vault the Paladins into third place in the opening round of play at the Palmetto Intercollegiate at the par-72, 5,972-yard Turtle Point Golf Course.
Romero made the turn at 1-over then birdied three holes on the back to finish the day three strokes behind leader Nadine White (-3) of Campbell, who carded a 67 in Sunday’s opening round.
Campbell (-2) holds a one-stroke lead over Kennesaw State (-1). The Paladins (E) carded an even 288 in Sunday’s round to place third, two strokes ahead of Illinois (+2) and Xavier (+2), who are tied for fourth.
Paladin sophomore Alice Chen (-1) and freshman Haylee Harford (-1) are tied for 11th entering Monday’s round. Chen recorded back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 then added two additional birdies on the back to finish the round at 1-under, while Harford made the turn at 2-under after carding two birdies on the front then added an additional birdie on No. 18.
Junior Taylor Totland (+4) is tied for 61st after notching a team-high five birdies, including consecutive birdies on Nos. 8 and 9, to register a 76, and sophomore Jacqueline Bendrick (+8) shot an 80 with a birdie on No. 5 to tie for 81st entering the second round.
Furman will tee off of No. 10 Monday beginning at 9:30 a.m. to open the second round of play. The 54-hole tournament will conclude on Tuesday with an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start.
Chattanooga ninth at Palmetto Intercollegiate
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team shot 295 (+7) in the opening round of the Palmetto Intercollegiate. It was a balanced effort, with Megan Woods’ 73 (+1) leading a trio of Mocs at 74 (+2). The squad is ninth, one shot behind Kansas and Coastal Carolina tied in seventh.
Woods had a career-high 15 pars to go with one birdie and two bogeys. She is tied for 23rd at +1, one clear of teammates Emily McLennan, Cris Perez and Monica San Juan who are tied for 32nd at +2. Isabella Loza had the drop score with an 80.
Campbell is the first-round leader at -2 (286). Kennesaw State is a shot back at -1 followed by Furman at E. Illinois, Xavier and Louisville are tied for fourth at 290 (+2). Just 10 strokes separate first and 10th with Boise State trailing the Mocs by one at 296 in 10th.
Monday’s second round starts at 10:15 a.m. for the Mocs on hole No. 10. The ladies tee it up with Augusta and Illinois again with Loza leading off ahead of San Juan (10:24), Perez (10:33), McLennan (10:42) and Woods (10:51).
ETSU 15th at Palmetto Intercollegiate
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The ETSU women’s golf team finished day one of the Palmetto Intercollegiate at Turtle Point Golf Course on Sunday. Freshman Hee Ying Loy continues to lead the team as she shot a 2-under 70 on the first day of the tournament.
Loy is currently tied for third individually with eight other golfers from Kansas, Furman and Kennesaw State. She has matched the 35th individual player in the nation, Yupaporn Kawinpakorn of Kansas, at 2-under par. She also outshot three of the top 100 individual players in the nation, as well.
As a team, the Bucs shot 13 over par in the first round at Turtle Point. Vivienne Chin shot a respectable 74 while tallying 14 pars on day one. Linda Dobele also carded a strong 75 in the first day by recording a birdie and four bogeys.
ETSU is just three shots from tying 46th-ranked Augusta University, which finished with a +10. The Bucs as a team are in 15th place and are just five strokes from breaking into the top 10 of the tournament.
The Bucs will continue the second round Monday on hole one from 8:30 a.m. to 9:06 a.m. Rachel Pollock will tee off first for ETSU, and Loy will tee off last.