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The Daily Tar Heel
From the Press Box

UNC women's golf in fifth at ACC Championship

Katherine Perry had a good feeling entering today.

The junior women’s golfer had played at Sedgefield Country Club, the home of the ACC Championship, twice before. So too had junior Casey Grice, who finished fifth at the 2012 championship. Experience would invaluably help North Carolina, Perry said Thursday.

But it was newcomer and freshman Elizabeth Mallett who starred in the tournament’s first round on an otherwise frustrating day in Greensboro for UNC.

The Tar Heels sit in fifth place after 18 holes, 24-over-par and 15 strokes behind defending ACC Champion No. 3 Duke.

Mallett carded the Tar Heels’ lone steady round of the day — two birdies, three bogeys and a one-over-par 71, good for a three-way tie near the top of the individual leaderboard.

Perry, tapped as UNC’s top player for the day, stumbled out of the first tee and couldn’t recover. Three bogeys and a double bogey through six holes spelt the end of a competitive round — Perry finished seven-over-par and is tied for 22nd.

Grice steadily negotiated the demanding course through seven holes before pocketing three straight bogeys. The rest of the back nine wasn’t any kinder to Grice, who made two triple bogeys though her last five holes. The damage added up to an eight-over-par 79, putting her in a tie for 27th.

Teammates Jackie Chang (eight-over-par) and Maia Schechter (12-over-par) didn’t fare any better. The disappointing round placed UNC in an unenviable spot — trailing the reigning champs by 15 shots on a course challenging enough to also host a PGA Tour event.

The day might have derailed the Tar Heels’ quest for their second ACC crown in three years.

It also, assuredly, dampened Perry’s optimistic spirits.

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