Pawley's Island, SC — It was a nice day for a career-best round for Stetson junior Giulia Vandenberg on Sunday in the opening round of the Golfweek Program Challenge at the Caledonia Golf & Fish Club.
Coming off earning All-Conference honors by finishing fourth at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Tournament last April, Vandenberg posted a bogey-free round of five-under par 66 on Sunday to start the 2015-16 season for the Hatters.
That score set a new record for Stetson women's golf, besting the opening round score of 67 posted by Alexandria Buelow-Jacobsen in the 2012 MSU Ocala Spring Invitational. Buelow's 67 came on a par 72 course, while Vandenberg's 66 was on a par 71. The two rounds are tied for the most under par in program history.
“Guilia has been playing great in practice, so I am not surprised she played well today,” Hatters head coach Floyd Kerr said. “Even though this is a par 71 course, a 66 is still an incredible score.
“I told her before the round that I was looking for six birdies from her today. She made five and missed a five-foot putt on 18 for the sixth. It was the best round she has ever had in competition.”
Vandenberg trails Morehead State's Anna Magnusson by two shots for the individual tournament lead. The two players played together in the last group off the first tee in the opening round of play and combined to produce 14 birdies. Overall, the 18 teams in the field combined to produce 171 birdies in the first round.
As a team, the Hatters finished the first round in third place with a team score of 291, four shots behind the tournament leaders from Ole Dominion (287). Morehead State (290) is one shot in front of Stetson in second place. Those three teams will place together in Monday's second round with Vandenberg and Magnusson being joined by ODU's Charlotte De Corte who, with a three-under par score of 68 on Sunday, stands in third place.
While Vandenberg got off to a blistering hot start, fellow junior Kristine Odaiyar posted a three-over par score of 74 in the first round and is tied for 19th in the 90-player field. Sophomores Eilidh Watson (75), Carolin Schart (76) and Paige Kemp (81) rounded out the Hatters' individual scores for the first day of competition.
“We got solid play for our other scores and our high counting score was a 76,” Kerr said. “Any time you can count four scores, with none higher than 76, your are going to be pretty competitive.”
Vandenberg opened her day with a birdie on the second hole, a long par five, but was matched by Magnusson. She added her second birdie two holes later on the par four fourth hole to take a one-shot lead over her playing partner, but Magnusson posted birdies on the seventh and eighth holes and made the turn with a one-shot advantage.
Magnusson pushed her lead to two shots on the par five 10th, but Vandenberg got that shot back with a birdie on the par three 11th hole. Vandenberg drew even with a birdie on the par four 14th before Magnusson web back in front on the par five 15th. Both players birdied the par four 16th before Magnusson pushed her lead back to two shots with a birdie on the par three 17th.
“The golf course is just in immaculate condition,” Kerr said. “The fairways are perfect, the greens are perfect and it was a good day for scoring well. The girls were excited going into the round today and we saw the same things we have seen in practice. This sets a tone for the year, and they have a lot of confidence going right now.
“I think this can be a really good team, and today's round was a good start towards that.”
Play in the second round of the tournament will start at 7:30 a.m. on Monday. Stetson's tee times will begin at 9 a.m. Live scoring throughout the tournament is available on GolfStat.com.
