You might say the weather was the overall winner in the final day of play in The City With Spirit Fall Classic hosted by the Lee University women’s golf team at the Cleveland Country Club. Eighteen teams and 93 individuals took part in the 54-hole event. During the final round on Tuesday, no team shot par and only four individuals shot par or better.
Wingate University (N.C) led from start to finish in claiming the championship with a final 872 total. Anderson University (SC.) was second (881).
After a slow start on Monday, the Lee Lady Flames fought back on their home course to place third (894). Lee tied Wingate for the best round on Tuesday (292). The University of North Georgia (908) came on strong in the final round and grabbed fourth while Lincoln Memorial University (919) rounded out the top five.
Lee was led by Hannah Nall. Her three straight 1-under 71s gave the veteran a 213 and a second-place finish in the medalist competition. Wingate’s Amely Bochaton took top honors with a 209. Kajsa Lindqvist of Lander University was third (215), while Lindsey Wilson’s Butpapaporn Sukterm totaled 216. Kennedy Gooding gave Anderson the final player on the all-tournament team with a 217.
However, it was Ellie Rippie of North Georgia who turned in a remarkable round during the final day. She finished tied for seventh after the dazzling round of 4-under 68, three strokes better than Nall and two others.
Lee’s Banthita “Pearl” Phoncharatkun was 3-over for the tournament and placed sixth just outside the all-tournament team. Lehane Louis-Drumond was 22nd, Emila Nordstrom 52nd, and Hope Harrell 56th, Lily Bloodworth 65th, Kariann Campbell 67th, Olivia Ireland 69th, and Keira DeLand 82nd were the other Lady Flames taking part in the event.
Coach Geandra Almeida’s thoughts:
“The tournament was a solid way for our team to kick off the season. While we are not satisfied with our performance this week, it gives us valuable insight into what we need to improve as we move forward. We struggled to get a consistent fourth score in both the first and second rounds, which set us apart from teams like Wingate and Anderson.
“Last night I challenged them to post the lowest score of the field today and they rose to the occasion. That shows we have the potential but need to work on our consistency which is completely understandable at this point in the season.
“We had outstanding performances from Hannah and Pearl. Hannah finished as the tournament runner up at 3-under par, playing consistently great throughout the all three rounds. Pearl was also steady, finishing in the top six, just two shots shy of making the all-tournament team. Our freshman Lehane Louis-Drumond impressed in her college debut, with a top 22 finish and contributing all three rounds to the team score.
“Now we have a few days to regroup and prepare for our next tournament hosted by Lander University in South Carolina.
“I would also like to take a moment to thank our tournament sponsor, College Tour X.”