Results
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Kristen Golightly earned a second-place finish with a 1-over par 73 at the Lady Eagle Invitational Tuesday at Hattiesburg Country Club.
Golightly began her round on the 10th tee, and carded a 2-over par 37 on the course’s back nine before posting a 1-under par 35 on the front nine. She bogeyed the par-four first hole before closing with birdies at the par-four fourth and par-five ninth. Golightly played her final eight holes of the tournament at 2-under par.
“Kristen (Golightly) played a really solid round of golf today,” head coach TJ Jackson said. “She didn’t have a three-putt, hit greens and fairways and just played solid.”
Ingrid Hagen shot 6-over par 78 to finish tied for 11th place to earn her fourth top-15 finish of the season. Hagen closed with a 1-over par 37 on her back nine holes, which came on the front nine of the course.
Caroline Beebe finished with an 11-over par 83, while Jordan Knight turned in a 12-over par 84. Ashleigh Ryals finished at 13-over par 85. Taylor Appleyard, playing individually, finished at 14-over par 86.
South Alabama finished tied for fifth with a team total of 318.
“We made some big numbers that counted toward the team score, and we can’t have those if we want to compete for a tournament win,” Jackson said. “We obviously want to eliminate those, but there were some good things that happened as well. Jordan (Knight) and Caroline (Beebe), getting into the lineup as freshmen, played solid. They each had a quadruple-bogey, and when we get that cleaned up they’ll be in good shape.”
The tournament was originally scheduled for 36 holes – 18 on Monday and 18 Tuesday. However, heavy rains passing through the Hattiesburg area forced tournament officials to cancel day one which forced a one-day, 18-hole tournament.
“Yesterday was a tough day because we waited to see what was going to happen until around noon,” Jackson said. “The round was cancelled and we couldn’t practice, so we just had to sit it out. In that regard, it can be tough mentally to come out and play. But it was the same for everybody.
“It (course) was a little wet from the rain we had yesterday, but it was still playable,” Jackson said. “It played a little longer than it would have otherwise, but it’s a great golf course. It is challenging, and if you don’t keep your ball in front of you or short-side yourself on some of these greens then you can walk away with double-or triple-bogey. That happened a few times today, but overall we played ok. But we’d love to have that fourth and fifth score coming in. It’s tough because we only had 18 holes, but we knew that coming in so there’s no excuses. We just have to put this one behind us and go forward into Little Rock (Ark.).”
Southern Mississippi won the team title in a sudden-death playoff over Memphis, and finished with an 18-over par team total of 306.
Memphis’ Alex Alang earned individual medalist honors with an even-par 72.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
-USA-
Lady Eagle Invitational
Hattiesburg Country Club
Par 72, 6,111 yards
Team results
1) Southern Miss, 306; 2) Memphis, 306; 3) Troy, 311; 4) Louisiana-Monroe, 315; T5) South Alabama, 318; T5) West Florida, 318; 7) Tennessee Tech, 324; 8) Belmont, 330; T9) Stephen F. Austin, 331; T9) UAB, 331; 11) Austin Peay State, 335; 12) Marshall, 341; 13) Jackson State, 347; 14) Texas-Pan American, 350; 15) William Carey, 361
Individual results
1) Alex Alang, Memphis, 72; T2) Kristen Golightly, USA, 73; T2) Brandi Rodriguez, USM, 73; 4) Sofia Bjorkman, Troy, 74; 5) Valentine Loge, ULM, 76; T6) Alison Knowles, ULM, 77; T6) Sarah Hicks, USM, 77; T6) Natalie Turk, Memphis, 77; T6) Katherine Bell, TTU, 77; T6) Vicky Correa, USM, 77
South Alabama scores
2) Kristen Golightly, 73; T11) Ingrid Hagen, 78; T42) Caroline Beebe, 83; T49) Jordan Knight, 84; T53) Ashleigh Ryals, 85; T57) Taylor Appleyard, 86 *
*Denotes competed as individual
