KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Heavy rains and strong winds sent scores soaring as LSU ended up with an eighth place finish in the Mercedes-Benz Women’s Championship at the Gettysvue Polo, Golf and Country Club.
A brute of a course in the best weather, the hilly layout dominated the 14-team field with Purdue’s 17-over par score of 305 the best of the day, allowing the Big Ten team to take the title with a 54-hole total of 38-over 902. Auburn was second at 907 (310 in Sunday’s round), while Duke (315) and Georgia (316) tied for third at 910.
LSU struggled with a 35-over round of 323 and finished in eighth place with a 64-over total of 928.
The good news for the Tigers came in the form of Dallas freshman Brook Shelton who recorded her first collegiate top 10 with a three-day total of 10-over par 226. Her rounds of 75-72-79 was good enough for a tie for ninth place in the individual competition won by Purdue’s Kari Damron at 1-over 217 (71-74-72). Damron was three strokes clear of Leigh Anne Hardin of Duke at 220.
“It was such a struggle in those conditions,” said Karen Bahnsen, LSU women’s golf coach. “For the first time in a long while, we let the conditions affect us and we didn’t concentrate and one mistake multiplied into several. It’s something we need to mentally handle better and we’ll have some time back home to work on that before our next event.”
The Lady Tigers conclude the fall portion of their schedule, October 26-28, at the Furman Lady Paladin Tournament.
Mercedes-Benz Women’s Championship
Knoxville, Tenn.
Team Results (288-864)
1. Purdue 297-300-305 – 902 +38; 2. Auburn 299-298-310 – 907 +43; 3. Duke 293-302-315 – 910 +46; 3. Georgia 294-300-316 – 910 +46; 5. Tennessee 303-300-314 – 917 +53; 6. Northwestern 304-303-317 – 924 +60; 7. Florida 311-293-321 – 925 +61; 8. LSU 299-306-323 – 928 +64; 9. Michigan State 299-310-321 – 930 +66; 10. Memphis 307-318-323 – 948 +84; 11. Furman 316-308-330 – 954 +90; 12. Nevada 308-320-329 – 957 +93; 13. South Carolina 318-310-334 – 962 +98; 14. Alabama 322-316-325 – 963 +99.
Individual Top 5 (Par 72-216)
1. Kari Damron, Purdue, 71-74-72 – 217 +1; 2. Leigh Anne Hardin, Duke, 67-77-76 – 220 +4; 3. Angela Jerman, Georgia, 74-72-75 – 221 +5; 3. Summer Sirmons, Georgia, 70-75-76 – 221 +5; 5. Carolina Laurens, Purdue, 72-76-74 – 222 +6.
LSU Results
t9. Brook Shelton 75-72-79 – 226 +10
t23. Meredith Duncan 73-75-82 – 230 +14
t34. Lindy Hitdlebaugh 75-77-83 – 235 +19
t51. Isabel Dornellas 82-82-79 – 243 +27
61. Devon Day 76-82-89 – 247 +31