Trojans Open Sun Belt Play With Solid 301

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MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – The Troy University women's golf team had a solid opening round of play in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament at “The Schoolmaster” course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail facility on Monday.

The Trojans posted a 13-over par score of 301 during their first round of play and are in sixth place. Trojans coach Matt Terry said he was pleased with the way his team started, even though they lost five shots to par over the final two holes.

“I am real proud of the way the ladies started out,” Terry said. “There are many times where you can play the first round of a tournament and shoot yourself right out of it. I think we kept ourselves in the mix. We played pretty well with a 301 top to bottom. They looked real comfortable out there. You didn't see any panic out there, even when they made mistakes.”

Junior Haley Lawrence led the way for Troy, posting a one-over par score of 73. The Prattville native is tied for seventh after the opening round, just three shots behind first round leader Malin Lundberg of UALR, who opened with a two-under par score of 70.

“I played really well,” Lawrence said. “I hit a lot of greens and made a few putts. I didn't really make a lot of mistakes and was able to keep to small numbers. You really have to place the ball well on this course.”

Terry said Lawrence was able to overcome an early bogey and played well all day.

“To shoot one over on the first day of conference is good because that is when most players have those jitters,” Terry said. “She had a bogey on the first hole out of the gate, but bounced back with a birdie and played solid the rest of the way.”

Lawrence also had bogeys on a pair of par fours, the seventh and 13th, and added a birdie on the par five 12th hole.

Denver, which has won the Sun Belt title for eight consecutive years, took the early lead in the tournament with a team score of one-over par 289. Pre-tournament favorite North Texas is four shots back, tied with UALR, for second place.

Arkansas State (299) and Middle Tennessee (300) are just ahead of Troy and FIU (302) is one shot behind.

“We are in a good spot after the first day and that is always very important,” Lawrence said. “You have to have good touch on your putting and that was the key today.”

Sophomore Sofia Bjorkman and freshman Signy Arnorsdottir both finished the opening day with three-over par scores of 75. Bjorkman was even on the front nine before a double-bogey on the par three 10th, followed by a bogey on the par five 11th. She got a shot back with a birdie on 12, but had a bogey on 17.

Arnorsdottir was three over on the front side, closing with three consecutive bogeys, but played par golf throughout the back nine.

“It was good to see Sofia and Signy play well,” Terry said. “Sofia had a very good round going, but made a couple of doubles and a couple of bogeys to go with several birdies. Signy played steady today, nothing flashy, but steady.”

Sophomore Sara Fennvick was two-over par on the front and four-over on the back and finished with a 78 with six bogeys and no birdies.

“Sara played well most of the day, but had bogeys on her last two holes to finish at 78,” Terry said. “That was certainly not the way you want to finish, but that bodes well for tomorrow. Day one is when you feel the most pressure.”

Senior Liz Balkcom finished with a nine-over par score of 81 and closed with a double bogey on No. 18. The final two holes played as the most difficult for the entire field on the first day of the tournament, with an average score of plus 1.30 on No. 17 and +.80 on No. 18.

“Liz didn't have her best day today, and she is frustrated, but I think she will come out and play much better tomorrow,” Terry said.

For the Trojans to put themselves into contention for a conference title tomorrow, it will likely take a score of closer to par. The Troy women's team has only broken 300 one time in recent years, that a 298 during the 2009 USF-Waterlefe Invitational in Bradenton, Fla.

Despite the rarity of the sub-300 score, Terry said he can see the Trojans posting that kind of number on Tuesday.

“It would be nice to get that tomorrow, and I think we are going to need it,” Terry said. “Even if it is just a 299, we are going to need that to be in the tournament going into the final round. We need to go out and shoot a decent number tomorrow and the way we do that is by just playing steady. There are some tough holes where you can drop some shots in a hurry if you aren't careful.”

The Trojans will open play at 8:55 a.m. and will play the second round with players from Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee. Live scoring for the Sun Belt Conference Championship is available through www.golfstat.com and through www.sunbeltsports.org.

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