--The Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team’s posted their best season-opening score shooting 872 (+20) over 54 holes at Cherokee Country Club. That was good for a seventh-place finish in the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate after today’s 294.
Maddy McDanel and Esme Hamilton tied for the team’s low card with level-par 71s. Rheagan Hall and Dorota Zalewska each tallied 76, while Kirsty Beckwith had the drop score with 78. Michaela Kulhankova shot 75 as an individual.
McDanel missed the top 10 by shot finishing tied for 11th with even-par 213.
It’s the sixth straight tournament she’s finished tied for 26th or better dating back to last October. She is just 2 over in her last 90 holes at Cherokee.
Hamilton moved within an eyelash of the top 25. She was one back tied for 32nd with 220. Hall was just another shot back at 221. Zalewska shot 224 ahead of Beckwith’s 228 and Kulhankova at 230.
Chattanooga opened on holes four, five and six in the shotgun start. The group was 6 over through the first four to six holes. A birdie spree on 11 kick-started a run. Eight of the counting cards’ 12 birdies on the day came in a span of six holes (11-16).
The Mocs went back to the front side 5 over on the day. Despite birdies by Hamilton and Hall at the par 3 second, the squad dropped five strokes on those three-to-five holes.
Kent State defended its title shooting 22 under (830). That was five better than Charlotte in second. LSU (859) was third followed by Tennessee (863), Maryland (867), Augusta (869) and Chattanooga. The Golden Flashes pair of Karoline Stormo and Pimnipa Panthong shared medalist honors with 8-under 205s.
The 872 total is best Chattanooga ending in 10 appearances at the Mercedes-Benz Championships. The previous low was 874 in 2016 with the Mocs finishing ninth at Cherokee. UTC topped eighth-place Mercer (882) by 10 with Tulane (886) and Middle Tennessee (887) rounding out the top 10. In-state rivals Memphis (906) and ETSU (913) ended up 13th and 15th, respectively, in the 16-team field.
It’s a quick turnaround as the squad heads to the Nashville area this weekend. Next up is the Mason Rudolph Championships Friday through Saturday at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin. Admission is free for the easy drive up from the Scenic City.
LINEUP
7th of 16: 289-289-294=872 (+20)
T10) Maddy McDanel: 71-71-71=213 (E)
T32) Esme Hamilton: 76-73-71=220 (+7)
T36) Rheagan Hall: 72-73-76=221 (+8)
T45) Dorota Zalewska: 70-78-76=224 (+11)
T58) Kirsty Beckwith: 78-72-78=228 (+15)
T63) Michaela Kulhankova (Ind.): 72-83-75=230 (+17