Tide Earns Runner-Up Honors at Derby Invitational
10/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
AUBURN, Ala. ?? The University of Alabama women’s golf team, coming off of two disappointing finishes, came back strong with a runner-up performance at the highly competitive Derby Invitational in Auburn, Ala. The event, scheduled to be a 54-hole tournament, was shortened to 36 holes after weather forced the cancellation of the first round.
Alabama fired a 308 in the first round of action on Saturday and carded a 298 in the final round to earn its best finish of the 2006-07 season. The 298 was the team’s third-best round of the year and its lowest since the opening weekend of the season.
“The biggest thing today was that we fell to eighth place at one point, but we battled back to finish second,” said Alabama head coach Mic Potter. “It was a good lesson for us to learn to keep fighting at all times. You never know what can happen if you do that, and I think our team learned that this weekend.”
Sixth-ranked Auburn won its own tournament with a 594, 12 shots better than its instate rivals from Alabama. Tenth-rated Tennessee finished third, followed by No. 15 North Carolina, with Florida, LSU and South Carolina tying for fifth place.
For the fourth time in as many outings this season, the Tide was led by All-American senior Jenny Suh. Suh, who won the fourth medal of her career in her last outing at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, carded an even-par 72 in the final round and finished with a 148 over two rounds. Her effort was good enough for sixth place, giving the All-SEC performer her 24th career top-10 finish.
Sarah Sturm bounced back after struggling early in the fall season, posting rounds of 76 and 75 to finish with a 151 at the Derby Invitational. Sturm tied for 14th place in the individual standings after her best rounds since the opening tournament of the season.
The biggest improvement was made by true freshman Helena Blomberg, who bettered her score by 10 strokes between the first and second rounds. The Uppsala, Sweden, native posted an 83 in the first round and a 73 in the second round. The 73 was the best round of her career, bettering her previous mark of 76.
“Helena was very steady and never got more than two-over today,” Potter said. “She hit a lot of good shots and had 10 fewer putts, which accounts for her improvement. I’ve been expecting her to get going, she is certainly capable of putting up scores like that on a consistent basis.”
Laura Goodwin fired rounds of 79 and 78 and tied for 47th place, while true freshman Rhea Nair recorded a 160 at the Derby Invitational.
The Tide wraps up its fall season next weekend, Nov. 3 through Nov. 5, at the Hooter’s Collegiate Match Play Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla.
