WEST POINT, Miss. — The LSU women’s golf team finished the 2007 Southeastern Conference Women’s Championships on a high note Sunday by rallying over the final nine holes to finish seventh as the three-day tournament came to a close here at Old Waverly Golf Club.
The Lady Tigers posted a final round of 302 to go with rounds of 294-303 to finish at 35-over par 899, one shot behind sixth place Vanderbilt (the country’s No. 5) team and ahead of No. 4 Auburn, eighth at 38-over par 902.
Third-ranked Georgia won the event easily with a three-day total of one-over par 865 with Florida rallying on the final day to finish second at 17-over par 881. The Bulldogs were even par after two rounds with an eight-shot lead and was able to put away the rest of the field early on to win the automatic bid to the NCAA Regional from the SEC.
Tennessee (+22) edged out South Carolina (+23) for third, with Alabama finishing fifth at 29-over par 893.
LSU’s four counting players (Alexis Rather, Kim Meck, Rebecca Kuhn and Caroline Martens) shot 13-over par on the back nine on holes 10-18, the holes LSU played Sunday as the front nine, before beginning to get things rolling on the front side of the course, holes 1-9.
The four counting scores on those holes posted eight birdies and was just one over par as Meck posted 74, Kuhn 75, Rather 76 and Martens 77. Even Melissa Eaton, whose round of 79 did not count for the team scoring was one under on the front nine.
Kuhn finished one shot out of a top 10 finish in a tie for 11th with a three-day total of five-over par 221 (72-74-75). Rather at 222 (72-74-76) was in a group tied for 14th and Kim Meck got a tie for 25th at 227.
“We would have like to improved on last year’s seventh place finish, but we didn’t,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen of her 25th-ranked Lady Tigers. “We let things get away from us a bit on Saturday, but still we played some good golf, especially down the stretch and we showed we can compete with these teams and now look forward to the opportunity that is presented us in a few weeks by hosting an NCAA Regional.”
The Lady Tigers and LSU will host the 2007 NCAA East Regional at the University Club in Baton Rouge, May 10-12. The field for the regionals will be announced in an NCAA teleconference on Monday, April 30.
SEC Women’s Golf Championship
Ole Waverly Golf Club — West Point, Miss.
Final Team Results (Par 288-864)
1. Georgia 285-291-289 — 865 +1; 2. Florida 296-295-290 — 881 +17; 3. Tennessee 292-296-298 — 886 +22; 4. South Carolina, 295-289-303 — 887 +23; 5. Alabama 291-300-302 — 893 +29; 6. Vanderbilt 296-303-299 — 898 +34; 7. LSU 294-303-302 — 899 +35; 8. Auburn 298-302-302 — 902 +38; 9. Arkansas 296-299-311 — 906 +42; 10. Mississippi State 312-295-307 — 914 +50; 11. Kentucky 308-308-315 — 931 +67; 12. Ole Miss 312-311-323 — 946 +82.
Top 10 Individuals
1. Taylor Leon, Georgia, 69-72-67 — 208 -8; 2. Garrett Phillips, Georgia, 67-72-73 — 212 -4; 2. Marci Turner, Tennessee, 68-72-72 — 212 -4; 4. Whitney Myers, Florida, 75-71-70 — 216 E; 5. Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt, 73-74-70 — 217 +1; 5. Jenna Pearson, South Carolina 74-66-77 — 217 +1; 7. Helena Blomberg, Alabama 69-75-74 — 218 +2; 7. Sandra Gal, Florida, 70-73-75 — 218 +2; 9. Angela Oh, Tennessee, 71-71-77 — 219 +3; 10. Blythe Worley, South Carolina 70-74-76 — 220 +4.
LSU Scores
T11. Rebecca Kuhn 72-74-75 — 221 +5
T14. Alexis Rather 72-74-76 — 222 +6
T25. Kim Meck 76-77-74 — 227 +11
T40. Melissa Eaton 74-79-79 — 232 +16
46. Caroline Martens 82-78-77 — 237 +21