KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The ninth-ranked LSU women’s golf team didn’t suffer from any Friday the 13th bad luck as the Lady Tigers find themselves in fourth place, just four shots out of first after the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Women’s Championships.
The Lady Tigers team, which has started slowly in most tournament first rounds after long breaks over the past two years, came out firing and posted a 16-over 304 on the hilly Gettysvue Polo, Golf and Country Club layout. That’s just four shots behind leader Duke at 300. Host Tennessee is second at 302 with Purdue in third at 303. The Swedish Junior National team is behind LSU in fifth at 307.
Shreveport junior Meredith Duncan opened her round on the back nine with a 2-under par 34 and led the Tigers with a 1-over par round of 73, good enough for a tie for fifth place after the first day of the three-day, 54-hole event. She is two shots out of the lead, held by Kentucky’s Rachel Lester.
“It was a very strong opening for us,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “We’ve worked very hard in practice over the last few weeks trying to make sure we focus on every shot from the start to the end. We emphasized how we wanted to come out and get ourselves in position right from the beginning and not have to rally from way down to get a good finish.”
LSU counted four scores in the 70s, led by Duncan’s 73. Gretna junior Lindy Hitdlebaugh rallied her round after a 5-over back side, to go 1-under on the front side to finish at four-over 76, good enough for a tie for 15th place. Senior Leslie McClurg, of Redmond, Wash, posted a 77 and is in the top 20 in a tie for 19th, while South Bend, Ind., senior Katy Harris is in a group tied for 27th at 6-over 78.
The tournament runs through Sunday.
Mercedes-Benz Women’s Collegiate
Knoxville, Tenn.
Team Results (Par 288)
1. Duke 300 +12; 2. Tennessee 302 +14; 3. Purdue 303 +15; 4. LSU 304 +16; 5. Swedish Jr. Nationals 307 +19; 6. Northwestern Univ. 308 +20; 7. TCU 311 +23; 8. New Mexico State 314 +26; 9. Vanderbilt 318 +30; 10. Mississippi State 319 +31; 11. North Carolina 323 +35; 12. Furman 324 +36; 13. Kentucky 325 +37; 14. Arkansas 326 +38; 15. Mississippi 331 +43.
Individual Top 5 (Par 72)
1. Rachel Lester, Kentucky, 35-36 — 71 -1; 2. Christie Hermes, Northwestern, 36-36 — 72 E; 2. Karin Sjodin, Sweden, 35-37 — 72 E; 2. Heather Zielinski, Purdue, 36-36 — 72 E; 5. Candy Hannemann, Duke, 34-39 — 73 +1; 5. Leigh Anne Hardin, Duke, 36-37 — 73 +1; 5. Meredith Duncan, LSU, 39-34 — 73 +1; 5. Young-A Yang, Tennessee, 38-35 — 73 +1; 5. Kristina Engstrom, Duke, 36-37 — 73 +1.
LSU Scores
t5. Meredith Duncan 39-34 — 73 +1
t15. Lindy Hitdlebaugh 35-41 — 76 +4
t19. Lesley McClurg 38-39 — 77 +5
t27. Katy Harris 39-39 — 78 +6
75. Devon Day 46-42 — 88 +16