Charleston Southern University Athletics
Powerade Cougar Classic
9/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
HANAHAN, S.C. – Charleston Southern held its position with a team-303 in the final round to finish tied for 15th at the 2014 Cougar Powerade Classic. The Buccaneers finished three strokes ahead of Clemson and four ahead of Ole Miss in a 23-team event that featured 10 ranked teams from last season's final poll, six ACC teams, and seven SEC programs.
Arkansas pulled away from the field at 18-under par to win the event, seven strokes ahead of UCLA and 10 in front of defending national champion Duke.
Duke's Sandy Choi finished at 11-under par to win the event by one, ahead of three different golfers.
The Bucs' lineup, which included two sophomores and three true freshmen playing in their first tournament, hung tough against one of the deepest fields of the season.
"Today was another long day out there and the girls fought hard," CSU head coach Matt-Cram Smith said. "Their are so many good things to take from this tournament. We held our own with some of the better teams in the country, our freshmen got to experience one of the top tournaments for the first time, and showed us just some of their potential and still did really well. I think the whole team saw how close we were to being up there in the Top 10 this week."
Freshman Hayley McNeill was CSU's top finisher, tying for 33rd. She shot a 73 (+1) in the final round and finished at 4-over for the tournament.
Sophomore Shelby Thompson shot an even-par 72 in the final round to go with her career-low 71 on Sunday to tie for 48th. She had four birdies on the day after putting up six in the first round.
Freshman Emelie Flink added a 76 (+4) on Tuesdsay to finish 53rd. She shot matching 38s with three birdies on the round.
Freshman Savannah Hallman posted an 80 in on Tuesday and Bella Johnson shot an 82.
The Bucs have a week off before the Proehlific Fall Classic in Greensboro, N.C. The 54-hole event runs Sept. 29-30 and is played at Forest Oaks C.C.
TOURNAMENT NOTES: Arkansas won the 2014 Powerade Cougar Classic title with a three-round score of 283-284-279—846 (-18)…The Razorbacks set a new tournament low round by two strokes over LSU's 848 in 2011…UCLA was runner-up at 11-under…Both the Razorbacks and Bruins were making their first-ever tournament appearance at the 12-year-old Cougar Classic…Sandy Choi of Duke claimed individual medalist honors with a three-round score of 69-68-68—205 (-11) which is the third-lowest tournament total behind a 203 by Austin Ernst of LSU in 2011 and Camilla Hedberg of Florida in 2012…Lightning delays and heavy rain suspended play twice in the final round.
