GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman women’s golf team is ranked eighth nationally according to the Golfweek collegiate rankings, released Friday by the publication.
The Paladins, who placed 20th at the 2016 NCAA Championships after claiming their second straight SoCon Championship last season, opened the 2016-17 season in mid-September with a team victory at the Minnesota Invitational. Sophomore Haylee Harford, the 2016 SoCon Freshman of the Year, tied for individual medalist honors to lead the Paladins.
Later in September, Furman returned home and entertained 19 teams at the Lady Paladin Invitational, where Furman recorded a second-place team finish. The Paladins, who were led by junior Alice Chen, the 2016 SoCon Co-Player of the Year, recorded a three-day total of 855, breaking the previous tournament record by five strokes. Chen was runner-up among the individuals at the tournament.
Most recently, Furman placed four players among the top 13 to finish second at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C. The Paladins, who recorded 57 birdies and four eagles, fired a 278, the best round in program history, to open the tournament. Harford paced the team with a fourth-place finish, while freshman Natalie Srinivasan tied for eighth. Senior Taylor Totland, who tied for 20th among the individuals at last season’s national championships, tied for 13th, along with freshman Carly Burkhardt.
“While it is, obviously, very early in the year, I am very excited about the ranking,” said Furman head coach Jeff Hull, who is in his first season at the helm of the Paladin program. “We have had a solid start to the year and look forward to competing against a strong field in Wilmington at the end of the month.”
Furman will compete at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C., Oct. 28-30.
Complete rankings can be found at http://rankings.golfweek.com/rankings/default.asp?T=wt#go
Oct. 7 Golfweek Rankings
1 Alabama
2 Stanford
3 Southern California
4 Florida State
5 UCLA
6 Georgia
7 Florida
8 Furman
9 North Carolina
10 Miami
11 Illinois
12 Purdue
13 Duke
14 Arkansas
15 Kent State
16 Texas
17 Northwestern
18 Oklahoma State
19 South Carolina
20 UCF