Tide Climbs to Eighth Place Behind Suh
11/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
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AUBURN, Ala. – It was another wonderful day for Crimson Tide standout women’s golfer Jenny Suh, as she helped her team climb four spots in the team standings, to eighth place, at the Derby Invitational in Auburn, Ala. The Tide carded a 300, the team’s best score since a 298 in the first tournament of the season, to propel them into the top 10 at the 17-team event.
Duke, the defending national champion, leads the team scoring at the event over No. 7 Auburn. The Tigers are hosting the Derby Invitational, which is being played on the Auburn University Course.
“We did some good things today,” Tide head coach Mic Potter said. “We keep getting better and better. Obviously, Jenny had another great day to help us move up a little bit. The field is as good as we will see all year, so I’m very happy with the way we performed today.”
Competing in a tournament studded with top-10 teams and an individual field that includes the defending individual NCAA champion, Suh continues to illustrate why she is ranked among the nation’s elite by women’s golf experts throughout the nation. She fired a 70 in her second round, giving her a 145 through 36 holes. More importantly, the two-under effort ties her for second place in the individual standings, four shots off the pace set by Auburn’s Maria Martinez.
The two-time All-American honoree leads the Tide for the fourth time in as many outings. Suh earned medalist honors for the third time in her career last weekend at the Chrysler ACC-SEC Challenge, an event which saw her recapture the putting stroke that had been inconsistent early in the season.
In her last five rounds, Suh has a 71.6 stroke average, including two rounds under par, the only such rounds for the Crimson Tide this season. She will go for her second-straight individual title in tomorrow’s final round.
“I putted a lot better than yesterday,” Suh said. “I made six birdies today and I didn't make any yesterday. I just have to get a good night’s sleep tonight and try not to get too excited.”
Also turning in a solid performance was sophomore Sarah Sturm. Sturm, who came into the event with the team’s third-best stroke average, carded a 75 in her second round and stands in a tie for 21st place. Sturm is just three strokes off of the top-10 pace at the event and could record her third career top-10 finish with a good effort in her final round.
Senior Carina Sorensen is also in the top 35 at the event after posting identical rounds of 77 in her first 36 holes. The native of Sweden is tied for 33rd place with a two-round tally of 154.
True freshman Laura Goodwin shaved four strokes off of her initial round score and fired a 78 in second-round action. Rounding out the lineup for the Tide was senior Audrey Gale.
The Crimson Tide will look to continue to move up the team standings in the final round of the Derby Invitational. The concluding 18 holes of action are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Alabama’s fall season will conclude with the final round of competition at the Derby Invitational.
