BATON ROUGE, La. – The University of South Alabama women's golf team tied for third in the 10-team field after shooting a combined 299 (+11) Friday in the opening round of the 2019 LSU Tiger Golf Classic at the University Club.
Sophomore Siti Shaari's even-par 72 is tied for fourth in the field, while senior MacKenzie Peyton is tied for 15th with a 3-over-par 75 on the day.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (Host): 2019 LSU Tiger Golf Classic (LSU)
Dates: March 29-31 (Friday-Sunday)
Format: 54 holes (18/18/18)
Start Time: 8:30 a.m.
Course: University Club (par 72, 6,247 yds)
Live Scoring
TEAM SCORES
1) Campbell 291 (+3); 2) TCU 294 (+6); T3) Texas-San Antonio 299 (+11); T3) South Alabama 299 (+11); T5) Old Dominion 301 (+13); T5) LSU 301 (+13); 7) Mercer 305 (+17); T8) Chattanooga 306 (+18); T8) Kansas 306 (+18); 10) Tulane 319 (+31)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
T1) Sabrina Iqbal, TCU, 69 (-3); T1) Emily Hawkins, Campbell, 69 (-3); 3) Yitsen Chou, Kansas, 71 (-1); T4) Kendall Griffin, LSU, 72 (E); T4) Stacey White, Campbell, 72 (E); T4) Ana Gonzalez, Texas-San Antonio, 72 (E); T4) Mary Janiga, Mercer, 72 (E); T4) Siti Shaari, South Alabama, 72 (E); T9) **Carol Pyon, Mercer, 73 (+1); T9) Haydyn Gibson, Tulane, 73 (+1); T9) Sana Tufail, Old Dominion, 73 (+1)
**Competing as an individual
SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
T4) Siti Shaari, 72 (E); T15) MacKenzie Peyton, 75 (+3); T23) Caroline Berge, 76 (+4); T23) Lexi Worrell, 76 (+4); 57) Julie Hovland, 85 (+13); 58) **Nele Mattner, 88 (+16)
**Competing as an individual
TEE SHOTS
-The Jaguars are tied for first with 12 birdies and are third in par-5 scoring with a 5.00 (E) average. The team played 52 holes at even-par in the opening round.
-Shaari is among the top five in the field in par-4 scoring (4.00, E), par-5 scoring (4.75, -1) and birdies (four). She opened the day with a birdie on hole 10 and carded consecutive birdies on holes 4-6.
-Peyton's 2.75 (-1) par-3 scoring average leads the Jaguars and ties for second individually in the 60-person field. The New Castle, Ky., native holds a 5.25 (+1) average on par-5s. She ranks among the top 20 individuals with 12 holes played at even-par.
-Caroline Berge carded a 4-over-par 76 in the first round. The sophomore played 13 holes at even-par, more than anyone else on the team, and tied for fifth individually. She is even on par-3s.
-Lexi Worrell's 4.75 (-1) average on par-5 holes ties for fifth individually. She holds a 4.10 (+1) scoring average on par-4s and ranks second on the team with 3 birdies in the first round.
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matt Luther
On today's first round… "It's a super difficult golf course. We talked about that on the front end and how to manage it and play the shot in front of you. We did a great job of it. We're in pretty good shape after one round."
On course conditions, specifically holes 10-18… "It's really difficult. This is probably one of the hardest courses in college golf. It's undulating, it's firm, it's fast, and there are a lot of tough areas to chip from around the greens. The greens are really severe, so there are penalty shots all over the place. It's a tough place to play, but we made a good game plan and stuck to it and did a pretty good job."
On Peyton's round coming off an injury: "I had no idea what to expect. She didn't even finish the last tournament and she only played about 11 holes in a practice round yesterday. She did what a senior is supposed to do: kept her ball in front of her, avoided big mistakes and made some key par putts and is off to a great start this week."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Chip In Club, the women's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Chip In Club go directly to support the South Alabama women's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/chipinclub.
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