Melissa Eaton had a repeat of last year’s performance at this year’s Southeastern Conference Championships.
Eaton tied for fifth for the second consecutive year, and LSU came in seventh overall at the SEC Women’s Golf Championships held this past weekend in Franklin, Tenn., at the Iron Horse Course of the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
The junior from South Africa was in 30th place heading into the match’s final round. Her 4-under round of 68 Sunday propelled her to 4 over par for the match and a tie with Georgia’s Taylor Leon.
“Mel was very good for us,” said LSU coach Karen Bahnsen in a news release. “We played some of those tough holes first, and we were able to make some putts early in the round.”
Eaton birdied five holes in a row on the back nine but ended her round with a triple bogey on the course’s par-5 final hole. Eaton’s ball landed in the cart of SEC official Craig Maddox on the hole.
Sophomore Alexis Rather tied for 21st, freshman Caroline Martens tied for 30th and sophomore Rebecca Kuhn tied for 47th.
“Our scoring was definitely better for the weekend, but we need to work on a few things around the green,” Bahnsen said. “We gave away some shots over the three days that can be corrected, but overall I thought the girls really tried to focus in each shot and not let mistakes carry over to the next hole in their thinking.”
Sophomore Kim Meck had her best round of the event Sunday, finishing 1 over on the day. Meck’s final round 73 gave her a 46th-place finish at 18 over par.
Defending champion Auburn needed birdie putts from senior Maria Martinez and sophomore Margaret Shirley on the 18th hole to win its sixth SEC Championship.
Auburn was the 1-stroke winner over the University of Tennessee.
“This win wasn’t easy,” said head coach Kim Evans in a news release. “It came down to the last two holes for us throughout the entire tournament. I couldn’t be prouder. Margaret and Maria’s putt on 18 was incredible. Everyone chipped in for the victory, and this was their goal. Tennessee played consistent throughout the tournament, and today they played a round that should have won it, but somehow, we muscled through it.”
Martinez finished at 5 under and 1 stroke ahead of Tennessee’s Marci Turner.
Georgia finished third, Vanderbilt was fourth and Arkansas rounded out the top five for the tournament.
“As was proven again, the scoring in this tournament by the conference teams was really strong,” Bahnsen said.
LSU closes out its season this weekend at the Ohio State Buckeye Spring Classic on April 22 in Columbus, Ohio.
Contact Keith Claverie at [email protected]
