Sunday’s first round of the Palmetto Intercollegiate marked an important milestone for the Furman women’s golf program; it was their first team competition since Mar. 8, 2020, nearly a year ago. One Furman player described the team’s excitement leading into the long-awaited event: “stepping onto the first tee and knowing your teammates are in front of you and behind you makes all the difference. We were so pumped to tee it up together again.”

Played on Kiawah Island at the par-72 Turtle Point Golf Course, the Palmetto Intercollegiate featured eleven teams, including several traditional powerhouses such as Wake Forest, Virginia, Duke, Clemson and Virginia Tech.

In their return to the course, the team picked up where they left off, finishing fifth in a strong field at this weekend’s event. With a three-round score of 909 (+45), Furman clipped Virginia Tech by one shot and finished within seven shots of second-place Virginia. Senior Madison Moosa said that her teammates and Coach Jeff Hull were generally pleased with the performance. “I think we’re all proud of it. To have a solid final round and work our way into the top five despite some difficult course conditions is very respectable,” she said, “As always, there are things to learn and improve on, but this is a good start to the season.”

On an individual basis, Furman also experienced success over the weekend. Sophomore Anna Morgan, junior Sarah-Eve Rheaume and Moosa all notched top-20 finishes. Morgan led the way for Furman with an overall score of 224 (+8) and an 8th place finish. Moosa noted that each of the three had been playing well leading into the event, so their strong performances should not have come as a surprise. She described the weekend as one full of “big picture positives” and learning opportunities for her and her teammates.

The Lady Paladins will hit the course next on Mar. 1st at the Gamecock Intercollegiate in Columbia, SC, where they will seek to improve upon their showing this past weekend.