LSU Gold

Women's Golf Shoots Low, Comes Up Short of Seminoles

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
Tournament Homepage Final Team Results Final Individual Results Final Course Stats +0
Women's Golf Shoots Low, Comes Up Short of Seminoles

BATON ROUGE — Coach Karen Bahnsen told her team to just play the University Club Course Sunday at the LSU-Cleveland Golf Classic and not concern themselves with Florida State’s 12-stroke lead heading into the final round.

The Lady Tigers couldn’t quite catch the Seminoles, but they nipped right at their heels for several minutes midway through the final nine holes, before settling for a nice second place finish, six shots behind the winning Florida State team that went wire-to-wire to win their fourth LSU title, their first since taking the title in a three-year-run from 1987-89.

In the process, the Lady Tigers shot the second best round of the tournament at two-over 290 on the final day to finish at 26-over 890, a 16-stroke improvement from last year shot this year in much tougher weather conditions. Florida State shot a 298 to win with a three-day total of 20-over par 880.

In finishing second, the Lady Tigers helped itself in many respect in the rankings by finishing in front of ninth-ranked Wake Forest (3rd at 894), 11th-ranked Alabama (5th at 897), 14th-ranked Georgia (6th at 898) and 22nd-ranked Virginia (7th at 905).

The Lady Tigers round was solid from top-to-bottom with senior Rebecca Kuhn and freshman Megan McChrystal shooting one-under par 71s. Senior Alexis Rather had an even par 72 and junior Caroline Martens a 76. Although not part of the team competition, freshman Lindy LaBauve shot a wonderful final round of two-under par 70.

“It was so obvious the first few days that we were tight,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen, who takes her team to the prestigious Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic over the Easter weekend in Athens, Ga. “They were feeling the pressure of playing at home. The first two days the course played as long as it possibly could the first two days, but (Sunday) the win was helping the players. I could tell this morning that they were relaxed and the way we finished, I could tell we are heading in the right direction.”

Kuhn, who was has a freshman was the runner-up in this tournament, finished third in this year’s individual competition with a one-under total of 215 after shooting rounds of 71-73-71. Her final round 71 was even more impressive considering that she bogeyed the first three holes.

“I am so proud of Rebecca Kuhn,” said Bahnsen. “When some people birdie the first three holes like that, they have a tendency to crumble. She bounced back and had a tremendous finish.”

Caroline Westrup of Florida State left no doubts on the individual competition backing up her Saturday 68 with a Sunday 67 for an eight-under 208 (73-68-67), the second lowest LSU-Cleveland Classic winning total at the University Club. Lauren Doughtie of North Carolina State was second at four-under 212 (72-69-71).

Westrup played the par fives in eight-under par and the par fours in one under in winning the event.

McChrystal got another top 10 finish with her 71 moving her up 10 spots to a tie for seventh at five-over 221 (76-74-71). Rather also jumped up 10 spots to 18th with an eight-over 224 (75-77-72). McChrystal led the field in pars with 41 total over the three rounds.

LSU-Cleveland Golf Classic
The University Club

Final Team Results (288-864)
1. Florida State 293-294-297 ? 884 +20; 2. LSU 300-300-290 ? 890 +26; 3. Wake Forest 300-300-294 ? 894 +30; 4. North Carolina State 303-298-295 ? 896 +32; 5. Alabama 302-297-298 ? 897 +33; 6. Georgia 302-299-297 ? 898 +34; 7. Virginia 309-307-289 ? 905 +41; 8. Louisville 301-301-304 ? 906 +42; 8. North Carolina 302-301-303 ? 606 +42; 10. South Carolina 306-306-302 ? 914 +50; 10. Central Florida 302-304-308 ? 914 +50; 12. Charleston 309-305-303 ? 917 +53; 13. Augusta State 317-304-302 ? 923 +59; 14. Kentucky 308-312-305 ? 925 +61; 15. Mississippi State 315-311-302 ? 928 +64; 16. North Carolina Wilmington 313-313-313 ? 939 +75; 17. Mississippi 316-317-309 ? 942 +78.

Individual Top 20 (Par 72-216)
1. Caroline Westrup, Florida State, 73-68-67 ? 208 -8; 2. Lauren Doughtie, North Carolina State, 72-69-71 ? 212 -4; 3. Rebecca Kuhn, LSU, 71-73-71 ? 215 -1; 4. Stephanie Connelly, Central Florida, 73-70-73 ? 216 E; 5. Krystle Caithness, Georgia, 75-72-72 ? 219 +3; 5. Benedicte Toumpsin, South Carolina, 73-73-73 ? 219 +3; 7. Megan McChrystal, LSU, 76-74-71 ? 221 +5; 8. Rhea Nair, Alabama, 75-72-75 ? 222 +6; 8. Steffi Kirchmayr, Charleston, 75-74-73 ? 222 +6; 8. Ann Laney, North Carolina, 74-74-74 ? 222 +6; 11. Laura Crawford, Wake Forest, 70-78-75 ? 223 +7; 11. Lene Krog, Virginia, 77-74-72 ? 223 +7; 11. Joy Kim, Virginia, 76-72-75 ? 223 +7; 11. Whitney Wright, Florida State, 70-75-78 ? 223 +7; 11. Dori Carter, Mississippi, 76-74-73 ? 223 +7; 11. Garrett Phillips, Georgia, 73-74-76 ? 223 +7; 11. Joanna Klatten, Charleston, 77-74-72 ? 223 +7; 18. Courtney Harter, Alabama, 75-77-72 ? 224 +8; 18. Alexis Rather, LSU, 76-76-72 ? 224 8; 18. Sara-Maude Juneau, Louisville, 76-75-73 ? 224 +8.

LSU Scores
3. Rebecca Kuhn 71-73-71 ? 215 -1
7. Megan McChrystal 76-74-71 ? 221 +5
T18. Alexis Rather 76-76-72 ? 224 +8
T26. Lindy LaBauve 75-82-70 ? 227 +11
T41. Nicole Crochet 78-80-72 ? 230 +14
T52. Caroline Martens 77-79-76 ? 232 +16
T52. Abby Oberthier 78-76-78 ? 232 +16
T64. Amalie Valle 81-77-78 ? 236 +20
T73. Kim Meck 79-81-78 ? 238 +22