Challenging front nine slots women’s golf at 12th place after day one of Jerry Surratt Memorial
The Eagles put together solid performances on the back nine, but were challenged by the front, holding onto 12th place in a field of nationally ranked teams.
VIDEO: Alyssa Montgomery Post Round
MONROE, N.C. – The Eagles put together solid performances on the back nine, but were challenged by the front, holding onto 12th place in a field of nationally ranked teams.
It was a beautiful day in Monroe, with the sun shining and the temperature rising to near 80 degrees. Carson-Newman took advantage of the warm weather on the back nine, and challenged some of the best teams in the nation. The challenges on the front nine were a combination of not playing since mid-February and general challenging layout.
"I think we were hoping for a little bit of a higher finish, but it is a tough field," said head coach Alyssa Montgomery. "We are coming off spring break and some long breaks in between so I think they are just shaking a little bit of rust off."
Anaelle Picot had a fiery start to the day, immediately birdying the par five 9th (her starting hole) before a bogey at the 12th would level her score. Then, on the par-five 16th, Picot hit a laser of a drive down the middle of the fairway and an even better second shot with her _-wood to about eight feet and made a left-to-right bending putt for eagle. She followed that up with a birdie at the 17th for a 34 (-2) on the back nine. Five bogeys on the front nine caused the graduate student some issues, landing her a first-round 74 (+2). Picot was tied for 21st after the first round.
Emery Fisher finished her round similarly. Her day began on the 10th hole and was quickly off to a great start with a birdie at the par-three 12th where she made a 20-foot putt. A bogey at 15 was cancelled out by a birdie at the 16th. The junior finished the back nine with her third birdie of the day at the par-four 18th to tally a 34 (-2) on the back. After six straight pars, Fisher hit her first bump of the day with a double at the 7th and finalized her first round with a par on the 9th for a 73 (+1). That was good for the top 20 after round one, slotting her in 16th.
Grace Lambert began her day with a triple bogey but recovered nicely, carding 13 pars throughout the round and making just four bogeys otherwise. Lambert parred her last three holes to shoot 79 (+7) in round one, good for 63rd in the field.
Madison Miller started her round on the 11th with a par before back-to-back bogeys on the 12th and 13th. A slew of pars would bring Miller to the 18th where she found the bogey train, carding four straight. She ended the streak with a birdie at the par-four 4th. Two more bogeys and a double at the 10th would add up to an 81 (+9). She was tied for 70th heading into round two.
Rylee Tucker couldn't find a rhythm after a challenging first few holes. The freshman helped herself with a birdie at the par-three 15th, where she sank a 25-foot putt, and also birdied the par-five 5th. Despite the circles, Tucker finished with an 88 (+16) that placed her in 90th.
The Eagles were +19 as a team and in 12th place after round one. Hole 7 was the worst hole for the Eagles all day, and one of the toughest for the field. C-N was eight-over on the 364-yard par-four and did not record a par in the first round.
In round two, Picot started well again. The Frenchwoman birdied the 506-yard par five 10th which played as the hardest hole of the day for the field. Throughout her second round, she also birdied the 18th and 7th holes. Her lone blemish on round two was a double at the fourth. With her second round 71 (-1), Picot is just one over through 36 holes and sits in 10th place.
"The biggest change was that she was just super calm out there," said Montgomery. "She had some rough stretches…and you would never tell. She was super calm, still happy, good vibes."
Grace Lambert had a much better start in round two. The freshman made a bogey on the 13th, but was otherwise clean on the back; she even made a birdie at the 16th. Lambert made another great birdie at the fourth with a put from off the green that spun twice around the hole before dropping for her second circle in her 36 holes. With a round two score of 75 (+3), Lambert is 49th with a two-round total of +10.
Emery Fisher started her second 18 with two pars before a double at the 13th. After that, she made five straight pars before running into trouble at the first. A birdie on hole three would assist her, but the junior came in at 78 (+6). At seven-over, Fisher is tied for 35th.
Madison Miller began round two with two pars before a couple of bogeys at the 13th, 15th, and 17th. The freshman hit trouble at the first with a double and followed that up with three pars and a birdie at the 5th to shoot 80 (+8). Miller is +17 overall and 73rd.
Rylee Tucker was two-over through the first five holes but made back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th to shoot even par on the back nine. She ran into trouble down the stretch with a few double bogeys for a second-round 82 (+10). She is +26 through 36 holes and is 87th in the field.
With a total of seven double bogeys on the front nine, C-N played holes 1-9 +42 throughout the first two rounds. They made 17 birdies as a team to counteract that.
"We will group together tonight and talk about what they think they could do better tomorrow. We'll look at pin placements, look at shots from the fairway, and understand a little bit better some good miss spots, as well as what we can fire at and what we need to be a little more cautious with," said Montgomery.
With 18 teams in the field and 13 in the top 40, Carson-Newman finished 12th. C-N is two strokes behind #5 Grand Valley State and five strokes back of #23 LMU. #7 North Georgia is also within striking distance. With 96 golfers in the field, C-N has just two outside the top 60.
