Women’s golf takes sixth in Florida State Matchup

In the Florida State Matchup that took place last weekend, the Mercer women’s golf team took sixth place while seniors Lacey Fears and Mary Alice Murphy each tied for 10th place individually.

“I think that the first tournament went well. It was a strong field and we played well as well as learned what to perfect by our next tournament in Miami,” said Murphy.

Fears also commented on the tournament, “We could have played a little better but we will still move up a good bit in the national rankings.”

Along with Murphy on day one of the tournament, freshmen Katy Harris and Haley Austin all ended the first round two-over par. Their efforts helped the Bears to a tie for fifth with University of Virginia. Overall, the team shot 298.

On day two of the tournament, Fears fired a one-over 73 placing the Bears in sixth at the end of the second round.

Freshman Marin Hanna made improvements to her first round by carding a six-over 78 while Murphy finished with a three-over 75. Austin and Harris both scored 77 and 79 for round two respectively.

To finish the tournament on day three, Mercer posted a final round of 303 to close the tournament at 601. The Bears were one stroke behind Texas A&M for fifth place, while South Carolina captured the tournament title with a score of 586.

Fears finished shooting 73 while Murphy posted a 75.

Murphy commented that she would like to continue striking the ball well so that she can score lower leading into conference play, but the main goal for the season is to help the team.

“The big goal is to place at conference and help the team move forward to regionals,” said Murphy.

Austin tied for 23rd place overall while Harris tied for 32nd.

Hanna made a four-shot improvement in her last round of play which tied her for 52nd place.

The Bears’ next match will be held at the Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Fla. on Mar. 3 in Miami’s Hurricane Invitational.