Kiawah Island, SC – Battling through rainy conditions on the final day of the Palmetto Intercollegiate at the Turtle Point Golf Course, Stetson junior Giulia Vandenberg struggled with her putter, but managed to stay near the top of the leader board until giving up three shots over her final two holes, finishing tied for sixth.
“She had birdie putts on her first two holes of the day that she left short, and that was the way it went for her all day,” Hatters coach Floyd Kerr said. “She finally got a birdie on the par three fourth hole, and then missed another five-footer on the next hole.
“She only missed one green on her first 11 holes, but was only one-under par, which was probably the worst she could have been.”
Vandenberg, who came into the final round of play tied for third, was tied for the lead when she bogeyed the par five 10th hole after hitting her second shot out of bounds. She went right back to hitting greens and having birdie chances on the next four holes before the last two holes.
“She missed the green on 15 and had about a 25-foot putt for par,” Kerr said. “She left it well short and then two-putted for a double and then bogeyed the last hole for a 75. Even though she was disappointed with the way she finished, she had a great tournament. She beat three players who came in ranked in the top 100 and tied with two others.”
Top individual honors in the tournament went to Yupaporn Kawinpakorn of the University of Kansas. She came into the tournament ranked 35th in the nation and closed with a two-under par 70 in the final round to take a three-shot victory with a two-under par score of 213.
Laura Fuenfstueck of the host College of Charleston team finished second at 216, with a trio of players another shot back tied for third.
The Paladins of Furman built an early team lead in the tournament and held off Chattanooga for the overall victory in the 20-team field. Furman (875) finished with a seven shot lead over the Mocs (882) with Campbell (884), Augusta (886) and Illinois (887) rounding out the top five.
The rest of the Stetson team did not enjoy the same level of success in the tournament at Vandenberg. The trio of Paige Kemp (78-81-86=245), Eilidh Watson (82-82-83=247) and Kristine Odaiyar (85-81-82=248) all struggled throughout the tournament. Sophomore Carolin Schart posted an 81 in the opening round, but fell ill 12 holes into Monday's second round and withdrew. She came back on Tuesday with a final round score of 75.
“We just didn't hit basic shots very well, especially around the greens,” Kerr said. “We were routinely making bogeys on holes where we should make no worse than par. They were bad bogeys. There is not a lot of difference between a 75 and an 82. We were just not very good around the greens.”
The Hatters will take a break from tournament play until the spring season, which they will open February 22 at the Amelia Island Collegiate in Fernandina Beach. But, just because tournament play is over for the fall, that does not mean the clubs will get put away.
“We are going to spend a lot of time around the green, chipping and putting, before we go back out for the spring season,” Kerr said.
