PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. – Barbara Car entered the final round of the Golfweek Fall Challenge tied for 26th after carding a three-over par 74 on Sunday and a one-over 72 on Monday.
The sophomore from Vodice, Slovenia then proceeded to shoot her best round as a Monarch and set a new program record on Tuesday with a six-under 65 to finish tied for fourth place.
Teeing off from the 10th hole, Car started off the day with two putts for par before stringing together four-straight birdies. She added another birdie on the par-4 18th hole to sit at 5-under at the turn, and converted one more birdie putt on the par-3 sixth hole. She did not make a bogey during her final lap around the course at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and it marked the first time in her collegiate career that she posted a round in the 60s.
Car matched the program record for lowest round of 65, but at six-under par it marks a new record for score versus par for a single round. Jana Melichova held the previous record of five-under 65, which she set during the final round of the Evie Odom Invitational on Oct. 5, 2021 at Princess Anne Country Club.
“Today was a historic day for our program,” said ODU Head Coach Mallory Kane. “We are very proud of Barbara for setting a new scoring record. She worked really hard over the summer to improve her game and it’s nice to see that work pay off in the first event of the year.”
As a team, the Monarchs placed 15th with a combined 35-over par 887. Puneet Bajwa had a strong start to the tournament with an opening round of two-under 69 followed by a second round of 71 to enter Tuesday tied for sixth. The junior made four birdies on the day, but six bogeys dropped her into a tie for 11th with an even 213. Mariana Arronte tied for 74th with a 54-hole total of 226 (+13), Ludovica Girola tied for 100th at 239 (+26), and Julia Rafter turned in a 258 (+45) to end up 105th.
Car finished second in par-4 scoring with an average of 3.81, and Bajwa was third at 3.89. Bajwa was also tied for third with 12 birdies throughout the three-day tournament.
Charlotte finished first in the team standings with a seven-under 845. High Point came in second with a four-over 856, and UNCW was third at six-over 858. Boise State’s Leia Chung captured individual medalist honors at 14-under par 199, Victoria Levy was the runner-up after shooting a five-under 208, and Charlotte’s Pimchompoo Chaisilprungruang took third with a final score of four-under 209.
Up next for the Monarchs is the Lady Paladin Invitational, which will be held at the Furman University Golf Club on Sept. 19-21 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Team Results
- Charlotte (273-286-286 – 845) -7
- High Point (290-290-276 – 856) +4
- UNCW (289-286-283 – 858) +6
- Coastal Carolina (284-289-287 – 860) +8
- Arkansas State (293-285-290 – 868) +16
- Boise State (292-291-287 – 870) +18
T7. Campbell (288-296-287 – 871) +19
T7. UNCG (292-293-286 – 871) +19
- East Carolina (288-296-288 – 872) +20
- App State (290-292-291 – 873) +21
- Lipscomb (295-291-290 – 876) +24
- Morehead State (286-300-293 – 879) +27
- Cincinnati (297-288-296 – 881) +29
- Winthrop (294-305-285 – 884) +32
- Old Dominion (299-300-288 – 887) +35
- East Tennessee State (295-303-290 – 888) +36
- Troy (289-310-291 – 890) +38
- Delaware (299-300-295 – 894) +42
- USC Upstate (305-319-301 – 925) +73
- Presbyterian (318-324-305 – 947) +95
ODU Lineup
T4. Barbara Car (74-72-65 – 211) -2
T11. Puneet Bajwa (69-71-73 – 213) E
T74. Mariana Arronte (78-74-74 – 226) +13
T100. Ludovica Girola (78-85-76 – 239) +26
- Julia Rafter (85-83-90 – 258) +45