The LSU women’s golf team struggled in Wilmington, NC. this weekend when they carded three rounds in the 80s as part of their three-day team score for the National Championship preview in the Landfall Tradition at Landfall Country Club.
Five LSU golfers competed in the event with the team’s score for each day being determined by adding the score of the Tigers’ four best rounds for the day.
The Landfall Tradition was the last tournament of the fall semester for the Lady Tigers. It was serving as a preview for the women’s golf national championship that will be held at Landfall Country Club’s Pete Dye course in May 2010.
Junior Megan McChrystal paced the Lady Tigers for the tournament a week after missing the last tournament with the flu. McChrystal’s steady play netted her a 12th-place individual finish.
McChrystal shot consecutive 1-over par 73s before shooting a 2-over par 74 on the final day to finish with a cumulative score of 4-over 220, which led the Lady Tigers by seven strokes.
LSU had a rough first day for the tournament. Three out of the five Lady Tigers shot rounds of 80 or worse, which forced them to use two of the 80-stroke rounds for score on the day.
Junior Amalie Valle and McChrystal kept the Lady Tigers in the tournament on the first day. The juniors accounted for three strokes over par on the first day, while the rest of the team was 16-over. The Lady Tigers finished the first day at 19-over, which was good for 16th place out of 18 teams.
But the Lady Tigers’ first-day struggles didn’t carry over to the second day. LSU improved their score by nine strokes in the second round and moved from 16th place into 10th place.
McChrystal and Valle both shot a one-over 73 to pace the team for the second straight day. Junior Lindy LaBauve and freshman Mary Michael Maggio also rallied for the Lady Tigers, with each posting a 4-over 76 to rebound from their rounds in the 80s.
But the Lady Tigers couldn’t keep it going for the final round. McChrystal posted another solid round, and was followed up by Labauve’s 2-over 74. The team shot their second 19-over 307 of the tournament however, again having to record an 8-over 80 as part of their team score.
“We didn’t finish the fall as well as we would have like to,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen in a news release. “We were without some of our top players here in the end, but it was good to have Megan back and performing well. We look forward to the spring and a lot of exciting events, and we plan to be back here next May for the NCAA Division I Championships.”
The Lady Tigers were without sophomore Tessa Teachman for the second straight tournament. Teachman sat out the tournament to recuperate from the flu before the Lady Tigers continue their season in February.——Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]