Harrison Tied for Individual Lead, Troy in Third Following Day One of Sun Belt Championship

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Sun Belt Championship

Harrison Tied for Individual Lead, Troy in Third Following Day One of Sun Belt Championship

4/15/2018 5:22:00 PM | Golf (W)

By: Adam Prendergast

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MIRAMAR BEACH, Florida – Troy's Lindsey Harrison fired an even-par 71 and is tied for the individual lead following Sunday's opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at the Raven Golf Course. Troy, the defending champion, is in third place and just three shots off the lead.

Harrison carded three birdies in her opening round and did so on three different par holes. She opened with a birdie on the par-5 third and made the turn 1-under after another birdie on the par-3 eighth. Two bogeys pushed her card into the black before her final birdie of the day on the par-4 14^th set her card at even for the round.

"Lindsey has had some quality rounds throughout the year, but hasn't been able to string them together," head coach Randy Keck said. "She has worked really hard on the weak areas of her game and is playing with a lot more confidence. She had a good putting round and took advantage of what the course was giving her in the tough conditions."

She is tied with Georgia Southern's Julianna Collett for the clubhouse lead as the pair are a shot ahead of a pair of golfers tied for third. Coastal Carolina, the top-seed in the event, holds a narrow 2-shot lead over Georgia Southern and Troy is just three shots back in third place.

"We played our first three holes in the rain and with a tough wind before it cleared up a little bit," Keck said. "The later groups had the advantage today, but I'm really proud of our team because they mentally prepared themselves for the weather before we went out and played those first three holes great."

The Trojans had three birdies and just five bogeys over the first three holes despite the adverse conditions. Troy has won three of the last four Sun Belt Conference titles and have been in the top three on the leaderboard following 13 consecutive rounds at the event.

Antonia Poate and Bianca Lohbauer entered the Sun Belt Championship as Troy's hottest swingers and continued that trend as they each shot 4-over and are tied for 12^th place. Lohbauer had two birdies – both on par-4 holes – in her opening round, while Poate mirrored Harrison with three birdies on three different par holes.

Sarah Harrison dropped three birdies during her round but struggled with a pair of sevens during the round as she shot 8-over and is tied for 27^h place. Eva Fabricius-Bjerre added a pair of birdies but was also haunted by two large numbers during her round to shoot an 83 and sit tied for 40^th place.

"I think we are surprising a few people who were discounting this team as a rebuilding year," Keck said. "The last two or three weeks leading up to the Sun Belt Championship have shown what kind of team we are, and we've had fun doing it."

Troy will be in the premier paring for Monday's second round along with Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern. The first group will hit the course at 8:15 a.m. from the first tee.

Team Standings
1. Coastal Carolina 297, 2. Georgia Southern 299, 3. Troy 300, T4. App State 307, T4. UT Arlington 307, 6. Texas State 310, 7. Arkansas State 311, 8. Georgia State 315, 9. ULM 321, 10. South Alabama 323, 11. Little Rock 327

Troy Individuals
T1. Lindsey Harrison 71, T12. Bianca Lohbauer 75, T12. Antonia Poate 75, T27. Sarah Harrison 79, T40. Eva Fabricius-Bjerre 83