GREENVILLE, S.C. – Lucia Gonzalez, Puneet Bajwa, and Barbara Car all finished under par as Old Dominion Women’s Golf placed fifth at the Lady Paladin Invitational this weekend at the Furman University Golf Club.
“We take a lot of pride in measuring ourselves against par,” said ODU head coach Mallory Kane. “Par or better rounds are something to be celebrated so it’s great to have three players finish the tournament under par. It was a team effort to finish top five. There’s still work to do between now and Tot Hill, but the Monarchs will be ready to go!”
Gonzalez was the top performer for ODU, tying for eighth with a five-under 211. The fourth year from Monterrey, Mexico entered Sunday’s final round tied for 12th at one-under after carding a 73 in the opening round and a 70 in the second. She saved her best for last though, making seven birdies with a four-under 68 for her final lap around the course.
Bajwa was next for the Monarchs, tying for 11th at three-under 213. A fourth year from Mohali, India, she started off the Invitational with a three-under 70 and followed with rounds of 71 and 72. Bajwa also shot the team’s lone eagle of the tournament, making her third shot on the par-5 sixth hole on Sunday.
Like Gonzalez, Car also recorded a final round of 68 after making three birdies on the front nine and three more on the back nine. The Vodice, Slovenia native handed in a 74 on Friday and followed with a 73 on Saturday. Her final effort helped her jump up 13 spots on the leaderboard.
Darby Hancock had two rounds of 74 and added a final round of 77 to finish tied for 41st at nine-over par 225. Ellie Johnson submitted a 76, a 79, and a 77 to tie for 58th at 16-over 232. Julia Colombier rounded out the ODU scorecard, shooting a 19-over 235 to tie for 60th while playing as an individual. Making her collegiate debut, the first year from Buenos Aires, Argentina opened with a round of 79, hit an 82 on the second day, and handed in a 74 for her final round.
The Monarchs combined for an even total of 864. Alabama finished atop the team leaderboard with a 22-under par 842, which was 10 strokes better than runner-up High Point. Xavier and Furman both went three-under with final totals of 861 to tie for third. HPU’s Makayla Grubb was the tournament’s individual medalist at 14-under par 202. Furman’s Olivia Hasselbach and Xavier’s Ivanna Flores were four strokes back of Grubb to tie for second with a pair of 206s.
ODU will have a week to prepare for the Tot Hill Farm Invitational, which the College of Charleston is hosting next Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 28-29 at Tot Hill Farm Golf Club in Asheboro, North Carolina.
Team Results
1. Alabama (281-285-276 – 842) -22
2. High Point (285-288-279 – 852) -12
T3. Xavier (285-284-292 – 861) -3
T3. Furman (283-294-284 – 861) -3
5. Old Dominion (291-288-285 – 864) E
6. Augusta (289-285-297 – 871) +7
7. Georgia State (298-293-285 – 876) +12
8. Florida Gulf Coast (290-294-296 – 880) +16
9. Minnesota (294-289-299 – 882) +18
10. Rice (303-297-289 – 889) +25
11. Samford (313-297-294 – 904) +40
12. Daytona State (322-317-309 – 948) +84
ODU Lineup
T8. Lucia Gonzalez (73-70-68 – 211) -5
T11. Puneet Bajwa (70-71-72 – 213) -3
T17. Barbara Car (74-73-68 – 215) -1
T41. Darby Hancock (74-74-77 – 225) +9
T58. Ellie Johnson (76-79-77 – 232) +16
T60. Julia Colombier (79-82-74 – 235) +19*
* Competed as an individual