Consistency and solid play were not enough for a top 10 finish for the Bulldogs this weekend at the 34th Annual Furman Lady Paladin Invitational. The tournament was held at the par 72, 5,984 yard Furman University Golf Course.
The Lady Dawgs opened the tournament with two consecutive rounds at 302 then improved to a 301 in the final round with individual scores ranging from a low of 74 to a high of 77. Janet Dyer led the dogs with a final score of 224, good enough for a 31st place finish.
“Putting really let me down this week. The speed of the greens was totally different than the greens we’ve played so far this year. They were extremely slow with some difficult bends. I think the whole team struggled with their putting, we missed some birdie opportunities, otherwise we would have had some low scores,” Dyer said.
Behind Dyer was Amanda Mathis, tied for 49th with Beth Irwin with a final score of 227. Mathis spoke about the consistency of the team from top to bottom.
“Our team played solid and with good consistency but we could have shot lower. But it was good to see the whole team playing well.”
Stephanie Godare and Asleigh Korsack finished nine spots behind Mathis and Irwin at 58. The two both shot a 229 for the tournament. Korsack was tied for the team led after the first round with a 75 but then faltered to consecutive 77s in the final two rounds.
The Lady Bulldogs travel to Sandestin, Florida this weekend for the ACC/SEC Challenge. The tournament is hosted by Florida State at the Raven Golf Club at the Sandestin Resort. This will be the final tournament of the semester for Mississippi State.
Senior Beth Irwin has participated in the tournament every year for the Bulldogs and looks forward to the competition.
“It helps a lot to play a course your familiar with. It’s always fun to play against a good field so I’m looking forward to it.”
Mathis plans to take the same approach to the tournament as she did in her win at Kentucky.
“I’m going to have the same approach I’ve had all year. I’ll keep working hard on my shot and trying to fine-tune it. This time hopefully the putts will fall.”