Tar Heel golfers tie for ninth at SC season opener

For the North Carolina women’s golf team, which began its season at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C., this week, one round would prove to be the difference of several spots on the leader board by the end of the three-day event.

Despite posting a combined 3-over-par 579 in the final two rounds of the tournament, the Tar Heels were unable to overcome a disappointing 11-over first round performance in South Carolina.

North Carolina tied with Tennessee for ninth place with a total score of 878, while Florida emerged first out of the 24-team field with a 12-under 852.

“Our first round was surprising and obviously a bit disappointing,” coach Jan Mann said. “But I think we made some progress by bouncing back with two solid rounds, which I was happy with.

“If you look at the scores, we really weren’t that far out of finishing a lot higher.”

For the first time in the last three seasons, juniors Casey Grice and Jackie Chang failed to leave the Yeamans Hall Club with a top-10 individual finish.

Along with six other players in the field, Grice and Chang tied for 14th place with an even score of 216 through 54 holes — 13 shots behind individual champion Camilla Hedberg of Florida.

Although Grice broke her two-year streak of top-10 finishes at the Cougar Classic, Mann said she was pleased with the junior’s performance. At the Classic’s end, she was only two strokes away from extending her streak.

At last year’s Cougar Classic, during which the Tar Heels finished second out of 22 teams, Grice competed as an individual and took eighth place.

“Casey was striking the ball very solid in each round this week,” Mann said. “Her putts were unfortunately not dropping in the final round, but overall she had a great tournament.”

In their first tournament as Tar Heels, freshmen Elizabeth Mallett and Samantha Marks saw action with the starting five, displaying resilience in the final round.

In the third round, Mallett jumped up six spots to end the tournament tied for 36th while Marks moved up nine spots to tie for 93rd.

“I think they both played very solid,” Mann said. “Elizabeth had a great second round, but overall played well throughout.

“Samantha had a very good tournament as well, and we anticipate both of them being major contributors for our team this fall.”

As North Carolina goes forward, Mann sees qualities like her freshmen’s late-round resilience as integral to finishing higher on the leader board.

“I’d like the team to focus on being more mentally tough — just kind of grinding it out when we need to,” Mann said.

“If you save a shot here and there, it can make a big difference. The key things are to continue to concentrate on one shot at a time and stay patient in each round.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.