North Carolina women's golf can't get under-par in South Carolina

The Long Cove Golf Club of Hilton Head, South Carolina tormented 17 teams from around the nation last weekend, leaving no survivors under par Sunday, March 8. 

Although the North Carolina women's team finished the first round tied for third with an under-par performance from Leslie Cloots and a pair of three-over performances from freshmen Bryana Nguyen and Lexi Harkins, the Tar Heels struggled mightily later, tying for 14th of 17 overall. 

The field was crowded with 12 of the top-25 teams ranked nationally, making this a tournament where many teams were trying to make a statement early in the spring season.

The Tar Heels were led by the sophomore Cloots from Belgium, who finished tied for 10th individually at five-over-par, while the freshman Nguyen ended the tournament tied for 20th with a score of nine-over-par for the tournament.

It was the rival Duke Blue Devils who raised the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Trophy with a team score of six-over-par, nine shots clear of the second places Louisiana State Tigers.

The layout at Long Cove proved to be challenging for UNC—particularly the par-5s, in which the Tar Heels finished last as a team.

Coach Jan Mann said this was an area of the team’s game that needed work and would definitely be an area of focus in the coming weeks.

“The par-5s were very challenging, but everybody plays them,” Mann said. “They call for some demanding tee shots and that’s where we struggled as a group.”

But it wasn't just the par-5s that hurt the Tar Heels, big numbers in the middle of their rounds plagued UNC, as well. 

Over the course of three days UNC compiled a total of 17 double bogies, 8 triple bogies, and 3 quadruple bogies, which is hard to overcome in the middle of the round.

“One thing we are working on as a team is being more conservative after those big scores,” Mann said, “It’s easy to try to go out and make a birdie after writing down a seven or an eight, but really we need to make some pars and remain steady.”

The freshman Nguyen echoed Coach Mann’s thoughts on the bogies in the middle of the round, stressing the importance of staying conservative.

“I’m working on being patient and just trying to make par after the big numbers,” Nguyen said. “Not trying to force a birdie is really important.”

Mann was very excited with Cloots' play, praising her consistency off the tee and her sharp ball striking throughout the tournament.

Cloots agreed that her ball striking kept her scores low, especially with such a challenging layout including plenty of water and sloping greens.

“The course was very intimidating with all of the water," she said, "So my iron game was really crucial for me over the tournament."