Many of the nation’s top Division I women’s golf teams descended upon Greenville last week for the 42nd annual Lady Paladin Invitational. Furman finished fifth amongst a field that included the likes of Clemson, Florida State, Texas A&M, and twelve other teams from as far away as Wisconsin. The Lady Paladins’ lineup consisted of freshman Taylor Totland, sophomore Valentina Romero, junior Laura DeMarco, and seniors Ingunn Gunarsdottir and Aubrie Street. Juniors Stephanie Carlozzi and Daffodil Sanchez also competed as individuals whose scores were not included in the team score. The tournament took place over the course of three days from Sept. 20-22. Par for the course was 72 and the holes totaled 6,266-yards in distance.
After a successful two-over-par opening round, Furman sat third in the standings. The team was led by the underclassmen pair of Totland and Romero, who each shot a 71, good enough for sixth place on the individual leader board. The overall leader after day one was Georgia Regents University-Augusta, which shot a combined score of three-under 285. Golf is the only sport in which the GRU-Augusta Jaguars compete at the Division I level, and according to the school’s athletics website, they have produced 19 professional golfers.
Due to inclement weather, the second and third rounds began as a shotgun start, where groups teed off from every hole simultaneously to reduce the total time it takes for everybody to finish playing. Day two saw the Lady Paladins slip one place into fourth place, while Totland maintained her sixth place standing. GRU-Augusta still paced the field with an even par for the second round. Their 36-hole score of 573 is the lowest total team score in tournament history, setting the record by just one stroke over the 2003 Georgia Bulldogs. Romero, 11th, and Street, 25th, were the only other Paladins in the top 25 at this stage in the tournament.
Day three saw more consistency from freshman Totland, who finished strong and secured a sixth place finish for herself. However, the team finished fourth for the round and fell one more spot in the standings and ended up in a tie for fifth place overall. Wisconsin shot a single-round record 281 to jump two spots from third to win the 42nd annual Lady Paladin Invitational. Wisconsin’s final score was +1, Clemson came in second at +3 and GRU-Augusta’s final day collapse landed them in third place at +6. Romero finished second on the team for the Paladins, followed by Street, Gunnarsdottir, and then DeMarco. The Lady Paladins have two weeks off before traveling to Austin, Texas for the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational Oct. 13-15.