Buies Creek, NC – Campbell University's annual fall golf tournament has a reputation for being a challenge to visiting players on the Orange & Black Course at the Keith Hills Country Club.
For Stetson, the result was a ninth place finish in the 15-team event. The Hatters posted single round scores of 316-314-315 for an 81-over par score of 945.
“I guess we are a 315 team on the Campbell course,” Hatters coach Floyd Kerr said. “We had one player post a decent round every day, but other than that it was thin. The golf course beat a lot of people, and it certainly beat us. The course was very tough and we certainly didn't handle it very well.
The event lived up to its billing as the Camels captured the team title for the eighth consecutive year, and for the 15th time in the last 16 years. Even though it is their home course, the nationally-ranked Camels were not immune to the pressures of the course, finishing with a score of 38-over par 902.
Only Campbell and Old Dominion, which finished second, managed to break 300 even once during the event. Both teams posted final round scores of 295.
Mercer's Mary Janiga was the only player to finish the tournament with an under par score. She closed with a 70 in the final round, giving her a one-under par 215 for the tournament, good for a three-stroke victory over Campbell's Nadine White.
Stetson junior Giulia Vandenberg and sophomore Carolin Schart both earned top 10 finishes for the tournament, but neither was able to escape from the Orange & Black Course unscathed. Vandenberg entered the final round four shots off the lead, in fourth place, but posted a final round score of 80 to drop to a tie for seventh.
“Giulia was just never able to get her putts to fall today,” Kerr said. “She battled, but just never got into a groove.”
Vandenberg managed just one birdie in the final round to go with six bogeys and a triple of the par four 15th. She opened the tournament on Sunday with a three-over 75 that included three birdies and six bogeys and followed with a one-over par 73 in the second round. She had four birdies and five bogeys in that round.
Schart finished ninth in the tournament after opening with a round of 72 on Sunday that included seven birdies and seven bogeys. The course got even with her on Monday as she finished with an 80 with just two birdies. That round also included six bogeys and a pair of doubles.
Schart finished with a 77 on Tuesday despite posting bogeys on her first four holes.
“Carolin was four over early, but battled to finish with a 77,” Kerr said.
Stetson's Kristine Odaiyar finished tied for 30th after posting scores of 80, 82 and 74 for a 20-over 236. Paige Kemp finished in 68th place with a score of 252 while Alessandra Kutz finished in 80th with a score of 277.
Overall, only 10 of the 83 players in the tournament managed to escape without posting a single round score of 80 or higher.
The Hatters will go right back on the road this coming weekend for their final event of the fall at the Palmetto Classic. The tournament, hosted by the College of Charleston at the Kiawah Island Resort's Turtle Point Course, will include 20 total teams, 13 of which are ranked in the top 100 in the nation. Louisville (19), Illinois (41), Furman (42) and Campbell (45) are among the best expected to be in the field. Coastal Carolina (102) is the defending tournament champion.
“We didn't have a good outing this week, but we have to get ready to go to another course where the scores were high last year,” Kerr said. “It is another tough course and it is a very good field. We are just going to have to play better.”
