Outstanding Finish Earns Top-Five Finish for Tide
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
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BATON ROUGE, La. ?? After an unspectacular beginning to the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic in Baton Rouge, La., this weekend, the Crimson Tide did more than enough to make up for it, as the team gained five places in the final two days of competition to finish fifth at the 18-team field with a team tally of 901.
Alabama opened with a 310 at the event, the fourth-worst round for the squad in the 2005-06 season. But the team responded in resounding fashion, rallying to earn the top-five finish, Alabama’s third in six events this season.
“Even though on the first day our score wasn’t where we wanted, I thought we were on the verge of breaking out,” Tide head coach Mic Potter said. “We just needed to trust ourselves and make a few more putts. We got a little better on the second day and overcame a slow start in the third round. Obviously, I was very pleased with how we finished.”
The Tide carded a 301 in the second round and exploded in the final round, firing a 290, a new season-best for the team. In fact, that mark blew the old standard out of the water, as the Tide bettered the previous best by eight strokes. The previous low team round was 298 in the opening round of the Tide’s own UA-Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate which Alabama eventually won.
Auburn won the team title at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic over a field that contained seven SEC teams. The Tigers shot a 54-hole 873 to finish two strokes over the host and runner-up LSU Lady Tigers. Vanderbilt and Virginia finished third and fourth and made up the remainder of the top five.
Spurring the Alabama comeback effort was junior Jenny Suh, who continues to be among the nation’s elite and one of the most consistent players in the SEC. Suh jumped six spots in the third round and tied for sixth place in the individual standings following a final-round 69. She has shot the lowest three-round total for Alabama in each of the team’s six events this season.
Today’s score tied Suh’s season low and helped her earn the 16th top-10 finish of her career. Suh’s three-under finishing round was the third below-par round for the team this season. Just like the majority of her teammates, Suh improved on each day, carding rounds of 76, 72 and 69.
“Consistency is the name of her game,” Potter said. “She doesn’t really have any weaknesses and doesn’t make many mistakes. If anyone beats her, it is not because Jenny beats herself and that’s the mark of an outstanding performer.”
Sarah Sturm, a sophomore who joined Suh at Alabama this fall after a year under Potter at Furman, made an equally impressive comeback and earned a spot in the top 25 at the event despite her slow start. Sturm opened with a 78, shot 75 in the second round and finished with an even-par 72 in the final 18 holes, finishing with a 225 and tying for 21st place.
Sturm’s 54-hole tally of 225 equaled her previous career best for three rounds, while her final-round 72 was one stroke over her career best for 18 holes. Sturm has finished in the top 25 three times in six outings this season.
“Sarah has been on the verge of breaking through all season and it finally happened for her today,” Potter said. “She even had a few more putts that could have easily gone down for her that would have given her a 70 or 69, but we’re very happy with the score she ended up with. She has been a good performer for us all season.”
Carina Sorensen was solid throughout for the Tide at the event, carding rounds of 74, 76 and 77 to earn a tie for 30th place. Her 227 for three rounds was just one shot over her season low, which she set at the UA-Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate earlier this fall.
Making the most dramatic improvement on the weekend was freshman Laura Goodwin. Goodwin fired an 83 in the first round, but closed extremely well by firing an even-par 72 in today’s final 18 holes. Her 11-shot improvement from round one to three was the biggest on the team’s effort this weekend. Goodwin, who has competed at all six events this season, shot the first even-par round of her career in the final round of action.
“Laura is a very gifted athlete,” Potter said. “The score she shot today is what she is capable of at almost every tournament. If she can continue to improve she will be a tremendous asset to this team. I was very proud of her effort this weekend.”
Audrey Gale rounded out the Tide lineup and finished in a tie for 67th place. Gale posted rounds of 82, 78 and 77 to improve by five strokes from start-to-finish.
Vanderbilt’s Jacqui Concolino captured medalist honors at the Classic by carding a 210 and edged LSU’s Melissa Eaton by a single stroke for the individual title. Four of the top five individual competitors hailed from SEC teams.
Alabama will next compete at the Sun Trust Lady Gator Classic in Gainesville, Fla., beginning on March 11.
