MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. ? A
sluggish opening round by the Troy
University women's golf
team left the Trojans in 10th place at the Sun Belt Conference
Championship Tournament on Monday.
The Trojans, who arrived at the Robert Trent Jones Shoals
facility at 6 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. tee time, posted an opening round score of
327, one shot better than Western Kentucky,
who the Trojans were paired with on “The Schoolmaster” course.
Sophomore Kaley Branton (Cartersville, Ga.)
turned in the best opening round for the Trojans, carding a six-over par score
of 78. Her highlight of the day came with a birdie on the par five, 488-yard
ninth hole, which is the number one handicap hole on the course.
“We played well except for a couple of holes and, on those
two holes, the entire team played poorly,” Troy
golf assistant John Owens said. “Number 14 was a great example. We played that
hole, one of the easier ones on the course, at five over as a team. That
carried over to number 15, which we played at four over. Those nine shots would
have made a big difference.”
Nationally-ranked Denver
paced the 11-team field with an opening round score of even par 288. The
Pioneers got matching scores of two-under par 70 from junior Katie Kemper (Albuquerque, NM) and
sophomore Stephanie Sherlock (Barrie,
Ontario) to share the opening
round individual lead.
Branton is in an eight-player tie for 19th
overall in the tournament.
The Pioneers lead the field by a comfortable margin, with South Alabama and Middle Tennessee tied for second place,
17 shots back at 305.
Behind Branton, the other Trojans' scores in the opening
round included an 81 by sophomore Desirae Zine (Vacaville,
Cal.), an 82
by freshman Liz Balkcom (Juliette, Ga.), an 86 by junior Danielle Skipper (Cullman,
Ala.) and a 91 by freshman Annelies Anderson (Ohaupo, New
Zealand).
The Trojans will return to “The Schoolmaster” course on
Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. for play in the second round of the tournament.
