HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Ark. – The High Point University women’s golf team shot a combined 639 in the first two rounds of the UALR Women’s Golf Classic on Monday to finish the day in 12th place out of 17 teams at the Diamante Country Club in Hot Springs Village, Ark. Freshman Sarah Bae finished the day in a tie for seventh to lead the Panthers.
“The golf course was the big winner today,” head coach Vici Pate Flesher said. “The scores were high across the board because of the wet conditions. We are going to have to make a really big move tomorrow. All of our players need to make a lot of pars and be happy with that. Every player had holes today that turned into big numbers. We can’t do that tomorrow.”
Bae shot a three-over 75 in the first round and a 77 in the second round to finish the day with a 36-hole score of 152. Junior Grier Bennett finished the day tied for 34th with a two-round score of 159 (79-80). Sophomore Casey Ward finished the day in a tie for 62nd with a score of 163 (84-79) and freshman Danielle Fuss finished in 68th with a score of 165 (81-84). Sophomore Tan Cheeranont finished in 75th with a 36-hole score of 169 (85-84).
Wichita State and Middle Tennessee State are tied for first in the team standings after two rounds with identical team scores of 617. Georgia State finished in third, one-stroke back of the pair with a score of 618. Oral Roberty (619) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (622) round out the top five.
Vanessa Johnson of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi leads the race for the individual medal after two rounds with a 36-hole score of 145 (74-71). Central Arkansas’ Sarah Brown and South Alabama’s Elisa Axelsen are tied for second with two-round scores of 150.
The Panthers return to the Diamante Country Club on Tuesday, March 25, for the third and final round of the Classic. The round will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.