LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman Vicky Meyer showed no fear in her opening round of the women’s Southeastern Conference Tournament at the University Club here Friday, but it wasn’t enough to keep LSU out of 12th place after the first round of the conference championship tournament.
Meyer, who two weeks ago finished in the top 20 at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic while playing on basically one leg battling strained tendons, posted a 4-over 76 in her first post-season round to finish the opening day in a tie for 20th. The other counting scores for LSU were a seven-over 79 by Devon Day, an 11-over 83 by Brooke Shelton and a 12-over 84 by Isabel Dornellas.
LSU particularly struggled with the length of a University Club course saturated with more than an inch of rain from Thursday and a first round played for the most part in fog and misty conditions.
The Tigers posted a 36-over par 324, 33 strokes behind first round-leader Tennessee which posted a 3-over 291. The Lady Vols were four shots clear of South Carolina in the 54-hole event, which runs through Sunday. Florida is third at 296 with Arkansas at 297 and Auburn and Georgia at 299 to roundout the top six teams.
Kristy McPherson of South Carolina, going for a three-peat of the SEC individual title opened defense in strong fashion, posting a 4-under 68 as a total of six player broke par on the opening day. Meyer’s 76 was good enough for an opening day placing of tied for 20th.
“It was a very difficult day,” said LSU coach Karen Bahnsen. “We didn’t do a good job of letting one hole go when we made a mistake and not worrying about it on the next hole. But Vicky did a good job and had some fabulous recovery shots and she has the chance with two more rounds like that to have a nice in the tournament.”
The second round is scheduled for Saturday.
SEC Women’s Golf Championship
Team Results — Round 1 (par 288)]
1. Tennessee 291 +3
2. South Carolina 295 +7
3. Florida 296 +8
4. Arkansas 297 +9
5. Georgia 299 +11
5. Auburn 299 +11
7. Vanderbilt 306 +18
8. Kentucky 309 +21
9. Miss. State 317 +29
10. Alabama 318 +30
11. Mississippi 319 +31
12. LSU 324 +36
Top 5 Individuals (Par 72)
1.Kristy McPherson, South Carolina 68 -4
2. Lina Axelsson, Arkansas 70 -2
2. Violta Retamoza, Tennessee 70 -2
4. Mary Fernandez, Tennessee 71 -1
4. Kelly Froelich, Georgia 71 -1
4. Jessica Shepley, Tennessee 71 -1
LSU SCORES
T20. Vicky Meyer 76 +4
T43. Devon Day 79 +7
T49. Brooke Shelton 83 +11
T53. Isabel Dornellas 84 +12
60. Rachel Overstreet 95 +23