TUNICA, Miss. — The LSU Lady Tigers struggled with the putter Friday and came home in a tie for fifth place after the first round of the Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Tournament at the Tunica National Golf Club.
The 10th-ranked Lady Tigers posted a first-day total of 303, 15-over par.
Auburn, seventh-ranked nationally, tried to put its mark on the championship early in the first round by shooting a three-over par 291, a round the Tigers had under par for the first 15 holes. Auburn leads by eight strokes over Tennessee, eighth ranked, at 299. Arkansas made a strong move in the first round to third at 13-over 301 tied with Georgia. LSU is tied with Alabama in the fifth spot.
LSU, which will play with Arkansas and Alabama in the second round, is just four shots out of second and 12 out of the lead after one round.
Defending champion Vanderbilt is eighth at 20-over 308.
Freshman Kim Meck had the best round for the Tigers at one-over 73 on the par 72 course which still played extremely tough despite the absence of the strong winds of Thursday’s practice round. Meck is in a group tied for seventh. Meck turned at one under with her only major mistake of the round a double bogey on the par three 13th. Meck’s 73 marked the fourth time this year she has posted her low of one-over par this season.
The individual leader is Nicole Hage of Auburn who shot three-under par 69, one of just two under par rounds on the day. Jessica Shepley of Tennessee shot a one-under 71.
LSU’s other counting scores on the day were a 75 from Brooke Shelton, a 77 from Melissa Eaton and a 78 from Rebecca Kuhn. Shelton was three over after seven holes and parred the remaining 11 holes of the competition.
“We just needed to make some putts,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen said of her team’s round which included just five birdies. “We just seemed to start a little tight and then we went about playing golf. The ball just didn’t go in the hole. We’re hitting it well and we are in good spirits. The course still played tough without the wind. The firm greens are very much a factor. You can’t hit the ball as close as you would like. But there is still a lot of golf left to be played. We are just four shots out of second and a lot can change.”
The second round of the 54-hole tournament begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
SEC Women’s Golf Championships — Tunica, Miss.
First-Round Team Results (Par 288)
1. Auburn 291 +3; 2. Tennessee 299 +11; 3. Georgia 301 +13; 3. Arkansas 301 +13; 5. LSU 303 +15; 5. Alabama 303 +15; 7. Florida 304 +16; 8. Vanderbilt 308 +20; 9. Kentucky 310 +22; 10. South Carolina 313 +25; 11. Mississippi 321 +33; 12. Mississippi State 330 +42.
First-Round Individual Top 10 Results (Par 72)
1 Nicole Hage, Auburn, 69 -3; 2. Jessica Shepley, Tennessee, 71 -1; 3. Stacy Lewis, Arkansas, 72 E; 3. Whitney Myers, Florida, 72 E; 3. Violeta Retamoza, Tennessee, 72 E; 3. Carina Sorensen, Alabama, 72 E; 7. Kimberly Meck, LSU, 73 +1; 7. Margaret Shirley, Auburn, 73 +1; 9. Jackie Beers, Georgia, 74 +2; 9. Kelly Froelich, Georgia, 74 +2; 9. Maria Martinez, Auburn, 74 +2; 9. Amanda McCurdy, Arkansas, 74 +2; 9. Darby Sligh, Alabama, 74 +2.
LSU Scores
T7. Kimberly Meck 73 +1
T14. Brooke Shelton 75 +3
T25. Melissa Eaton 77 +5
T29. Rebecca Kuhn 78 +6
T49. Vicky Meyer 82 +10