BATON ROUGE — LSU senior golfer Katy Harris had her best finish since her freshman season Sunday, losing in a playoff for the individual title of the Lady Gamecock Classic at the University Club of South Carolina.
Harris, from South Bend, Ind., had three runnerup finishes as a freshman, including one loss in a playoff for a title and this time she fell just short of her first collegiate title. She moved into a tie for the lead on Saturday for the final 18 holes.
Harris, ranked 13th nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, posted a 3-over 39 on the final nine holes and posted a 2-over 74 on the final 18 holes to finish the 54 holes at 3-over 219. Georgia’s Angela Jerman, who started the day one stroke behind Harris, had a 1-under 35 on the back nine and a 1-over 73 on the day to tie Harris at 3-over 219 and send the Lady Gamecock to extra holes for the first time.
Jerman birdied the par 5 18th hole and won the playoff when Harris missed a 12-footer for par on the same hole. It was Harris’ fifth top 10 finish of the season and the 16th top 10 of her career, tied for fourth on the LSU list of career top 10s.
Shreveport junior Meredith Duncan, tied for the lead with Harris after 36 holes, struggled on the final day with a 6-over 78 to finish at 7-over par 223 for the event. She finished in a tie for sixth, her fourth top 10 of the season.
The Tigers as a team finished in third place with a 54-hole total of 49-over par 913 (301-300-312). Duke rallied to win the tournament for the fourth consecutive year with a 23-over par total of 887 (299-292-296), five shots ahead of Georgia at 28-over 892. LSU in third was 12-shots better than Wake Forest, which finished fourth at 925 (61-over).
Lesley McClurg had her best finish of the season for the Tigers, finishing in a tie for 14th at 12-over 228 (75-75-78).
“I know Katy is disappointed she wasn’t able to win the tournament, but it was a great weekend for her,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “Our scores were higher today, but so was everyone in the field. The temperatures were cooler and the winds made the course that muchtougher. I’m very pleased with our overall performance and a third place finish behind two strong teams in Duke and Georgia.”
The Lady Tigers will have a week off before traveling to Honolulu for its second-ever appearance in the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational March 27-29.
Lady Gamecock Classic
Columbia, S.C.
Final Team Results (Par 288-864)
1. Duke 299-292-296 – 87 +23; 2. Georgia 295-294-303 – 892 +28; 3. LSU 301-300-312 – 913 +49; 4. Wake Forest 308-312-305 – 925 +61; 5. South Carolina 309-311-316 – 936 +72; 6. Alabama 315-320-311 – 946 +82; 7. North Carolina 317-315-322 – 954 +90; 8. Florida 311-315-331 – 957 +93; 9. Mississippi State 306-321-333 – 960 +96; 10. Furman 316-315-334 – 965 +101; 11. Mississippi 343-327-345 – 1015 +151.
Individual Top 5
1. Angela Jerman, Georgia, 72-74-73 – 219 +3 (won playoff); 2. Katy Harris, LSU, 73-72-74 – 219 +3; 3. Kristina Engstrom, Duke, 75-74-71 – 220 +4; 4. Kalen Anderson, Duke, 76-71-74 – 221 +5; 5. Kristy McPherson, S. Carolina, 74-72-76 – 222 +6.
LSU Scores
2. Katy Harris 73-72-74 – 219 +3
T6. Meredith Duncan 72-73-78 – 223 +7
T14. Lesley McClurg 75-75-78 – 228 +12
T38. Isabell Dornellas 83-80-82 – 245 +29
T50. Erin Sarver 81-83-91 – 255 +39
T56. Devon Day 87-84-90 – 261 +45