The Drake University women's golf team finished the first day of the Payne Stewart Memorial, hosted by Missouri State, in third place after two rounds of play.
The Bulldogs carded a team score of 298 in the morning and followed that with a 300 in the afternoon round to hold a 1-stroke lead over the host, Missouri State. Oral Roberts sits on top of the team standings at 582, following by California Baptist at 591.
"Overall, I'm pleased with our showing today," said Drake head coach
Rachael Pruett-Hornbaker. "Everyone contributed and it's really great to see us consistently putting together solid team rounds."
Individually,
Kristen Giles and
Haeri Lee led the team and sit tied for sixth on the individual leaderboard with first day scores of 146. Giles posted the team's low round of the day with a 71 in the morning round while Lee recorded rounds of 74 and 72. The pair record 10 combined birdies on the day on the par-71, 6,021-yard Twin Oaks Country Club.
Sam Paulak finished eight strokes behind Lee and Giles with a 78-76 – 154 while Kelly Kavanaugh and
Aayushi Sarkar had 156 strokes on the first day. MSU's Abby Cavalani had the top finsh of the day with back-to-back 69s to lead the field by three strokes.
"The ladies would probably tell you themselves they left shots out there, and it's okay to always want to improve, it keeps us hungry," Pruett-Hornbaker said. "I told them after the round that it's okay to feel that way AND be happy with what we accomplished. We have some good momentum heading into the final round, and we are looking forward to it."
The Bulldogs return to the tee box Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. for the final round of the three-round event.
3. Drake, 298-300 – 598
6.
Kristen Giles, 71-75 – 146
6.
Haeri Lee, 74-72 – 146
41.
Sam Paulak, 78-76 – 154
49.
Kelly Kavanagh, 75-81 – 156
49.
Aayushi Sarkar, 79-77 – 156
