Lee junior Caroline Moore tied for medalist honors in the 54-hole Ross Resorts Invitational staged at the Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday. She captured her second-career medalist win.
During 36 holes of play on Monday, Moore turned in scores of 72-76 and on Tuesday put a 73 on the board for a 221 total. Barry’s Charlotte Puts tied Moore for top honors after rounds of 77-72-72 – 221.
A pair of Rollins College golfers, Lexie Toth and Paige Lyle tied for the third spot at 222 and Barry’s Tilda Larsson was fifth (223). Lee’s Sam Burrus was also consistent against many of the best golfers in D2’s South Region and placed sixth. The junior recorded rounds of 76, 74, 76 – 225.
"Caroline and Sam were awesome this week, and they certainly carried us,” noted Lee head coach John Maupin, “They are battle tested and they showed it this week. They played tough and really competed well."
Maupin continued, “I'm very excited for Caroline. She worked really hard this summer and has showed up ready to play. This was a complete performance. She did everything well, and her course management was as good as I've seen it. Very impressive win for her."
Lee newcomers Haverly Harrold and Annika Gino tied for the 34th position in the field of some 60 golfers with 244 totals while Cailey Gino rounded out the team scoring with a 250. Judianne Speach, playing in the individual competition, fired a 247.
Rollins College, the defending NCAA Division II national champs and the host team, claimed team honors. The Florida squad’s two-day total was 905. Barry settled for second (913) while still two more Florida programs, Lynn University and Nova Southeastern tied for third (927). The Lady Flames settled in the sixth position with rounds of 305-315-309 – 929 and 12 strokes better than Gulf South Conference rival, West Florida.
"I really like kicking off our season here at Mid Pines because it's such a strong field, and it is one of the toughest courses we play,” said Maupin. “It's a great way to find out how you stack up early in the season.
"I'm quite pleased with this start. We had three freshman here this week and they had their ups and downs,” he added, “but this will be a valuable learning experience for them. They will have some big rounds for us in the future.
"As a team we hung with and beat some of the top teams in the country. “Even though we weren't clicking on all cylinders,I think that's a very positive sign. We aren't where we want to be, but I feel confident we can get there."