A fast start by the Lady Tigers faded quickly after two disappointing final rounds at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., resulting in an eighth-place finish.
The Lady Tigers sent five golfers to the course this weekend, as juniors Ali Lucas and Lindsay Gahm, sophomore Madelene Sagstrom and freshmen Elise Bradley and Nadine Dreher played for the team score.
The top performers from last week’s Liz Murphey Fall Preview, Gahm and Sagstrom, came out swinging efficiently at the University of North Carolina Finley Golf Club during the three-day tournament, posting a 6-over par 222 and a 2-over 218 respectively.
Lucas also performed well, hitting a 7-over 223 over three rounds.
The same couldn’t be said for the two freshmen on the squad, as Bradley and Dreher combined to shoot 39-over par for the tournament.
“They need to eliminate the big holes,” said LSU coach Karen Bahnsen. “Elise stepped up today, and that was big for her because she came back from a bad start. They’re still working very hard.”
Bahnsen noted before the tournament that she was looking for improvement out of her younger golfers behind the leadership of Gahm and Sagstrom.
Neither disappointed on the first day of competition.
Gahm came out firing on all cylinders, finishing the first round with a 1-under 71 performance. Sagstrom finished at 2-over 74 before the sun set over the course Friday. Lucas also delivered a 2-over opening round, putting LSU in a solid position to make a run at a top-five finish.
The second day brought much of the same from the veterans of the team, as Gahm shot a 2-over 74, Sagstrom shot even-par and Lucas fired a 3-over 75.
That round wasn’t nearly as kind to LSU’s freshman class.
After mediocre performances in round one, both Bradley and Dreher found themselves struggling on day two.
Bradley completed the second round with a 10-over 82. Dreher didn’t fare much better, as a 9-over 81 left the squad with a tall hill to climb to squeeze out a finish in the top five.
As the sun rose over the course on day three, the Tigers looked to improve on the previous morning’s poor play.
Sagstrom ended her final round on a high note, shooting for even-par 72, finishing tied for seventh overall.
“[Sagstrom] is just a really solid player,” Bahnsen said. “She didn’t have her best ball striking, but she just stays tough mentally.”
Lucas and Bradley both finished with a 2-over 74.
Gahm and Dreher completed their tournament performances at 5-over 77 and 10-over 82 respectively, failing to make strides in the final round.
The Lady Tigers play next at the Alamo Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, beginning Sunday, Oct. 28, and concluding Tuesday, Oct. 30.
