Host Vanderbilt, behind a spectacular individual performance
by Abbey Carlson, a junior from Lake Mary, Fla., claimed the team title in the
Mason Rudolph Championship, which was shortened to 36 holes by, what else, rain
last weekend.
Carlson ripped off a pair of 6-under-par 66s over the
6,430-yard, par-72 Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. for a 12-under
132 total that gave her the individual title by five shots.
With the forecast for Sunday looking bleak, tournament
officials tried to sneak in a double round Saturday, but, with the second round
in the books, rain forced the suspension of Round 3 Saturday afternoon. And the
rain didn’t stop, so any hope of getting in the third round Sunday was
eventually also dashed and the tournament was shortened to 36 holes.
None of which changes the fact that Vanderbilt has started
the 2018-’19 season playing some excellent golf. The victory on home turf comes
on the heels of a runnerup finish in the Cougar Classic, shortened to 36 holes
by the approach of Hurricane Florence.
Vanderbilt opened with a sparkling 10-under 278 and added a
7-under 281 for a 17-under 559 total. Arizona State, the 2017 NCAA champion,
was the runnerup as the Sun Devils were just a shot behind Vanderbilt with an
opening-round 279 before falling back with a 4-over 292. Arizona State’s
5-under 571 total left it 12 shots behind the Commodores.
Atlantic Coast Conference power Wake Forest was the only
other team to finish under par as the Demon Deacons added a 3-under 285 to
their opening round of even-par 288 for a 3-under 573 total.
It was another 10 shots back to Clemson and Auburn, which
finished tied for fourth at 7-over 583. Clemson, out of the ACC, opened with a
5-under 283, but fell back with a 300 in the second round. Vanderbilt’s Southeastern
Conference rival Auburn opened with a 4-under 284 before backing off with a 299
in the second round.
Another SEC entrant, LSU, finished sixth at 9-over 585,
improving by three shots from its opening-round 294 with a 3-over 291 in the
second round.
It’s been a slow start to the season for North Carolina,
which shared seventh place in the 15-team field with ACC rival Louisville at
12-over 588. The Tar Heels opened with a 2-over 290 before falling back with a
10-over 298. Louisville added a 299 to an opening round of 1-over 289.
Backing up Carlson for Vanderbilt was Auston Kim, a freshman
from St. Augustine, Fla. who fired a 3-under 69 in the opening round before
finishing up with an even-par 72 to join the group tied for seventh at 3-under
141.
Annie Kim, a freshman from South Korea, finished among the
group tied for 15th at 1-under 143 after adding an even-par 72 to an
opening round of 1-under 71. Louise Yu, a sophomore from Duluth, Ga., finished
up with 1-under 71 after opening with a 74 as she ended up in the group tied
for 25th at 1-over 145.
Rounding out the starting lineup for Vanderbilt was Courtney
Zeng, a senior from Orlando, Fla. who added a 74 to her opening-round 72 to
finish among the group tied for 27th at 2-over 146. Zheng was coming
off a runnerup finish in the Cougar Classic.
A couple of Wake Forest players, neither of whom were
Jennifer Kupcho, the No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking,
shared runnerup honors at 7-under 137.
Emilia Migliaccio, a sophomore from Cary, N.C., added a
4-under 68 to her opening-round 69 while Siyun Liu, a junior from China, added
a 2-under 70 to her sparkling opening round of 5-under 67.
Kupcho, a senior from Westminster, Colo., had a pair of 71s
to finish in the group tied for ninth at 2-under 142. Trust me, nobody is
wondering if the reigning NCAA individual champion can really play or not.
The good news for North Carolina is that its senior leader,
Kelly Whaley of Farmington, Conn., ripped off a 5-under 67 in the second round
to get a share of fourth place with LSU’s Alden Wallace, a freshman from
Shreveport, La., at 5-under 139. When Whaley, who opened with an even-par 70,
got on a roll last spring, the Tar Heels followed her lead.
Wallace fired a 4-under 68 in the second round after opening
up with a 1-under 71.
Leading the way for Arizona State was Olivia Mehaffey, a
junior from Northern Ireland who finished alone in sixth place at 4-under 140.
Twice selected to the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team, Mehaffey
opened with a 4-under 68 before adding an even-par 72.
Backing up Whaley for North Carolina was Jennifer Zhou, a
freshman from Longwood, Fla. who opened with a career-best 5-under 67 before
adding a 2-over 74 that left her in the group tied for seventh at 3-under 141.
Another freshman, Nicole Lu of Taiwan, finished in the group
tied for 55th at 153 after adding a 79 to the solid 2-over 74 she
carded in the opening round.
Junior Brynn Walker, the two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at
Radnor, and Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany, struggled on the Vanderbilt
Legends Club layout.
Walker had rounds of 77 and 78 to finish in the group tied
for 61st at 155 while Bergner, who was the Tar Heels’ best player during
the fall campaign as a freshman a year ago, had rounds of 80 and 81 and finished
in the group tied for 73rd at 161.
Mariana Ocano, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla. competing
as an individual, made a pretty good case for her inclusion in the starting
lineup when North Carolina hosts the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational
beginning Oct. 12 as she opened with a 3-under 69 and added a 74 to finish
among the group tied for 15th at 1-under 143.
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