KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The eighth-ranked LSU women’s golf team moved up one position on the final day to finish in sixth place in the Mercedes-Benz Women’s Championship Sunday at the Gettysvue Polo, Golf and Country Club.
LSU finished with a 311 on the final day, tied for the sixth best round of the 18-team field, and finished at 57-over par 921. Georgia, won the event with a 42-over par 906 (297-303-306), holding off a rally by Duke, which shot 299 on the final day to finish two strokes out of the lead. Wake Forest was at 910 in third, with South Carolina at 911 and Purdue two shots ahead of LSU at 919.
It was Lisette Lee, the LSU senior from Kenner, who paced the Tigers on the weekend, shooting her second even-par round of 72 for the tournament to finish at 6-over 222 for the 54 holes (72-78-72). She finished in a group tied for fourth with Maria Beautell of Wake Forest and Candy Hannemann of Duke.
For Lee, it gives her 13 career rounds of even par or better at LSU and the 10th top 10 finish of her career. It is her best finish since finishing fourth in the 1997 Stanford Intercollegiate. Her 10 top 10s put her alone in ninth place on LSU’s all-time list.
Shauna Estes of Georgia was the overall winner, winning a playoff over Nuria Clau of Wake Forest after both players finished at 1-over par 217.
Meredith Duncan was the only other LSU player to break 80 on the final day, as the Shreveport sophomore posted a 6-over 78 to finish at 16-over par 232 (77-77-78), tied for 23rd. Also finishing in that group was LSU junior Katy Wilkinson of South Bend, Ind., who finished with the same total (74-77-81).
New Orleans sophomore Lindy Hitdlebaugh finished in a tie for 40th at 235 (79-76-80), while New Zealand freshman Rebecca Barrow came home at 249, 71st place (85-78-86).
“The conditions were much tougher on Sunday, but we didn’t really get a lot going,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “We played our best golf early in the tournament, but couldn’t capitalize on anything in the last round. It’s a still a very good finish against an outstanding field and now we look to finish the fall on a high note in a few weeks.”
The Lady Tigers conclude the fall season November 5-7 as they take part in the Golf World Invitational at Hilton Head, S.C.
Mercedes Benz Women’s Championship
Gettysvue Polo, Golf & Country Club — Knoxville, Tenn.
Team Results (Par 288-864)
1.Georgia 297-303-306 — 906 +42; 2. Duke 302-307-299 — 908 +44; 3. Wake Forest 306-298-306 — 910 +46; 4. South Carolina 300-300-311 911 +47; 5. Purdue 309-299-311 — 919 +55; 6. LSU 302-308-311 — 921 +57; 7. Auburn 307-299-316 — 922 +58; 8. Tennessee 310-312-305 — 927 +63; 9. Swedish National 320-304-314 — 938 +74; 10. North Carolina 316-311-316 — 943 +79; 10. San Jose State 321-312-310 — 943 +79; 12. Ohio State 325-313-315 — 953 +89; 13. Vanderbilt 311-318-333 — 962 +98; 14. Furman 318-317-328 — 963 +99; 15. Mississippi 315-326-324 — 965 +101; 16. Florida 318-324-333 — 975 +111; 17. Alabama 327-326-328 981 +117; 18. Memphis 333-315-340 — 988 +124.
Individual Top 5 (Par 72-216)
1. (Wins playoff) Shauna Estes, Georgia 70-71-76 — 217 +1; 2. Nuria Clau, Wake Forest, 74-71-72 — 217 +1; 3. Celeste Troche, Auburn, 75-72-74 — 221 +5; 4. Maria Beautell, Wake Forest 72-72-78 — 222 +6; Lisette Lee, LSU 72-78-72 — 222 +6; Candy Hannemann, Duke, 73-75-74 — 222 +6.
LSU Scores
t4. Lisette Lee 72-78-72 — 222 +6
t23. Meredith Duncan 77-77-78 — 232 +16
t23. Katy Wilkinson 74-77-81 — 232 +16
t40.LindyHitdlebaugh 79-76-80 — 235 +19
t71. Rebecca Barrow 85-78-86 — 249 +33