Alabama
Valspar Augusta Invitational
Brutal Elements Has Crimson Tide Women’s Golf in Sixth Place after First Round at Valspar Augusta Invitational
3/12/2022 4:04:00 PM | Women's Golf
The tournament has been shortened to 36 holes, will play in final round tomorrow
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of Alabama women's golf team competed through unfavorable wind speeds in the first round at the Valspar Augusta Invitational, posting a 20-over-par 308 through its first 18 holes at Forest Hills Golf Club (par 72, 6,244 yards) in Augusta, Ga., Saturday.
The tournament field, which was originally scheduled to play 36 holes Saturday and 18 holes Sunday, will now crown a winner after 18 holes Saturday and 18 holes Sunday because of more than 20 miles per hour wind speed and up to 30 miles per hour wind gusts during the morning session.
The Crimson Tide's 20-over-par 308 in the first round is good for sixth place ahead of the final round.
The Valspar Augusta Invitational features 16 teams, including five teams ranked in the Golfstat.com Top 25. The tournament field consists of Augusta, No. 9 Alabama, Coastal Carolina, No. 14 Florida State, Furman, Georgia Southern, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Purdue, No. 25 Ole Miss, San Diego State, No. 4 South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee and No. 23 Virginia Tech.
The highest-ranked team in the field in the No. 4 South Carolina Gamecocks sit atop the leaderboard after turning in 13-over-par 301. The Miami Hurricanes and the Ole Miss Rebels are tied for second place, just two strokes shy of the leader.
Alabama is five strokes back from the top three and seven strokes back of first place.
Benedetta Moresco, the top-ranked player in the field, paced the Crimson Tide through the elements on a 2-over-par 74. The sophomore rallied a one-over on the back nine, followed by a one-over of the front nine, including birdying her final hole of the round, the par-5 No. 9, for a share of fifth place.
Polly Mack managed to birdie two of her final three holes to force a 3-over-par 75 in the opening 18 holes, good for a share of ninth place. The fifth year began the round on a 3-over-par through her first nine holes but turned it around when she recorded three birdies and just one bogey in her final six holes.
Despite leading the Crimson Tide with four birdies on the day, Angelica Moresco carded a 7-over-par 79. She is tied for 36th place after her first 18 holes.
Isabella van der Biest and Sarah Edwards found adversity on the back side of the course, recording a five-over and a seven-over, respectively, on those holes. The newcomers had an easier time on the front side of the course, posting a three-over and a two-over, respectively. The freshman, van der Biest, is tied for 49th place on an 8-over-par 80, while the transfer junior, Edwards, has a share of 60th place on a 9-over-par 81.
Competing at the Valspar Augusta Invitational for the first time in 16 years of the tournament, Alabama is set to compete in the final round of the newly-formatted, 36-hole event tomorrow. The Crimson Tide will tee off holes Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 in a shotgun start Sunday at 9:30 a.m. CT, paired with Augusta and Florida State.
FROM HEAD COACH MIC POTTER
"It was a cold and very windy day, so it required a great deal of patience and focus from our team. Overall I felt we did a good job of hanging in there and overcoming adversity. We still need to acquire more command of chipping, pitching, and trajectory control, but conditions like these are a great way to identify what needs to be practiced at home. Tomorrow is another day, and we do have the firepower to overcome the seven-shot deficit that we now face!"
RESULTS
- T5 Benedetta Moresco 2-over-par 74
- T9 Polly Mack 3-over-par 75
- T36 Angelica Moresco 7-over-par 79
- T49 Isabella van der Biest 8-over-par 80
- T60 Sarah Edwards 9-over-par 81
For all the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaWGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
