What You Need to Know:
- The Georgia State women's golf team shot rounds of 301 and 309 to stand in sixth place following day one of the Idle Hour Collegiate Championship in Macon.
- Three Panthers are among the top 25 in the field led by sophomore Emma Berlin who shot rounds of 72 and 78 to stand in a tie for 16th place at 6-over par.
- The 16-team field will play the final 18 holes on Tuesday will live scoring on BirdieFire.com.
MACON, Ga. – With three golfers in the top 25, the Georgia State women's golf team shot rounds of 301 and 309 on Monday to stand in sixth-place following the first day of the Idle Hour Collegiate Championship.
Sophomore Emma Berlin led the Panthers with rounds of 72 and 78 to stand in a tie for 16th at 6-over on a day that saw just four golfers break par.
The Panthers 610 total leaves them at 34-over par with 18 holes to play and just six strokes out of fifth-place.
"We posted a very competitive round in the morning but left too many shots out there in the afternoon," head coach Jessica Steward said. "The greens are very small and we knew we would have to rely on our wedges, but unfortunately we gave ourselves par putts that were difficult and our save percentage was low.
"However, we hit really well off the tee and made the second-most birdies of any team in the field. Our team is so motivated to finish the fall season on a strong note tomorrow and I can't wait to see how they come back."
Senior Harmanprit Kaur added rounds of 76 and 75 for the Panthers to stand in a tie for 18th at 7-over par, while junior Chloe Howard shot 74 and 79 to sit in a tie for 23rd at 9-over par. Sophomore Maria Blasco added rounds of 79 and 77 to stand at 12-over par and tied for 40th, while freshman Jenny Marston is in 47th place at 14-over par after back-to-back rounds of 79.
Freshman Courtney Lewis, making her GSU debut and playing as an individual shot back-to-back rounds of 82 and is tied for 73rd at 20-over par.
Charlotte shot rounds of 290 and 285 on Monday to stand at 1-under par and build a 14-stroke lead entering the final round. Host Mercer is in second-place at 13-over par, with Troy in third-place at 21-over par. Georgia Southern is in fourth-place at 26-over par, while Seton Hall rounds of the top five at 28-over par.
Charlotte's Cecilie Finne-Ispen shot 69 and 67 on the opening day to stand at 8-under par and hold a four-stroke individual lead. Mercer's Laila Hrindova and Seton Hall's Mia Kness are tied for second-place at 4-under par. Georgia Southern's Ella Ofstedahl is in fourth-place at 1-under par, with Troy's ShaeBug Scarberry rounding out the top five at even par.
Live scoring of the final round can be found at BirdieFire.com. Fans can follow the team on twitter @GSU_WGolf. The Panthers will be paired with Georgia Southern and Seton Hall for Tuesday's shotgun start beginning at 8 a.m.
Following this week's tournament, Georgia State will open the spring season at the Amelia Island Collegiate Feb. 17-18, at Amelia National Golf Club.
