Cheeranont Wins Individual Title To Lead HPU Women’s Golf At William & Mary Invite

• Senior Tan Cheeranont won individual medalist honors with a program-record 54-hole total of 213 (70-71-72, -3)
• HPU posted the third-best best 54-hole total in program history (905, 311-298-296) to finish fourth
• Junior Danielle Fuss carded a field-best 69 on Tuesday to end the tournament t-7th

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Senior Tan Cheeranont won her first career tournament title to lead the surging High Point University women’s golf team to a fourth place finish Tuesday at the William & Mary Invitational.

The Panthers showed improvement each day, carding a three-round total of 905 (311-298-296) that ranks as the third-best 54-hole mark in program history.

Cheeranont shined as a beacon of consistency throughout the week en route to individual medalist honors. She posted a tournament-best 39 pars and led the field in par-4 scoring (-3). Her 54-hole total of 213 (70-71-72, -3) set a new HPU program record and earned her a one-shot victory over William & Mary’s Alessandra Liu (74-69-71-214, -2).

“Tan’s been showing her maturity this year,” Pate Flesher said. “She’s been patient with herself and it showed out there today. This is the first time I’ve seen her this focused on the golf course, making pars and trying to convert birdies when the opportunities are there. Instead of trying to make things happen, she stayed patient and stuck to her strengths.”

Junior Danielle Fuss also was tremendous in final round action for HPU, carding a field-best 69 to jump from 21st to t-7th in the standings. The 18-hole score bested her previous collegiate low round by one stroke. The Rochester, N.Y., native put together a three-round total of 222 (78-75-69, +6) to earn the seventh top-10 finish of her HPU career.

Fuss tied for fifth in the field in total pars (37) and notched a solid six birdies on the week.

“Danielle played more than anyone else this summer and played well,” Pate Flesher said. “She is all about confidence and the more she plays, the more confident she gets. She strikes the ball well and was hitting it closer to the hole today. She adjusted her putting speed on these slow greens and everything came together for her.”

Sophomore Cayla Smith posted a score of 75 for the second-straight day to post a top-25 finish for the tournament. Smith’s 54-hole total of 230 (80-75-75) placed her t-24th amongst the field of competitors.

Rounding out the HPU contingent, freshman Landrie Grace placed 59th (83-77-86-246) while fellow freshman Jenny Zhang was t-60th (91-78-80).

“This was an excellent experience for the freshmen,” Pate Flesher added. “In a three-day tournament, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. In terms of physical and mental ability, it’s taxing and they did a great job with it. Both of them contributed and did a great job.”

UNC Wilmington won the team title with a 54-hole score of 879 (293-293-293) while host William & Mary was second (305-293-293-891).

HPU returns to action in two weeks at the Lady Pirate Invitational, scheduled for Sept. 28-29 in Greenville, N.C.

“I think the girls are excited about going to ECU,” Pate Flesher said. “We’re going to see some similar teams, as well as some top level teams. That’s going to be a test for us to see where we stand amongst the top-100 programs. We’re going to keep practicing the way we have been and continue to make progress.”