The No. 12 Texas A&M women’s golf team teed off in Melbourne, Florida at the Suntree Country Club to compete in the Moon Golf Invitational on Feb. 17-20.
Suntree Country Club is home to 36 holes of championship golf with a classic course and a challenge course. The Moon Golf Invitational is held on the Suntree classic course, a par 72 of 6503 yards, waterways, lush treelines and a number of challenging bunkers. It was one of the first stops for Senior PGA Tour players in the 1980s and 1990s.
The challenge course is grueling for some of the most experienced golfers and was designed by Arnold Palmer. This course is unique to the classic course as it consists of marshes, lakes and a bird and wildlife sanctuary.
The Moon Family told SpaceCoastDaily this is the seventh annual Moon Golf Invitational and the strongest field it has seen so far.
“It is a dream for all of us at Moon Golf to be able to sponsor this event,” the company said. “Our goal each year is to create the best experience we possibly can in all of women’s college golf.”
The field consisted of 17 teams with some of the best in the country including, No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 LSU and No. 11 Ole Miss.
Round 1 began a day earlier than scheduled due to Florida’s rainy forecast for Feb. 18. The teams teed off on Saturday and completed the first 18 holes of the tournament.
Florida senior Maisie Filler led the individual leaderboard with seven birdies to post a 6-under round. A&M junior Adela Cernousek matched her season-low record of 67, just one stroke behind Filler in solo second.
Auburn led the field at 6-under with LSU trailing behind by just one stroke. Louisville closed out the round in a close third at 2-under.
Despite the delay to begin Round 2 on Monday, the golfers had no choice but to trudge through the wind and rain for the first nine holes.
The weather conditions had a relatively large effect on the field as the Round 2 scores increased. The Aggies finished 10-over along with 11 other teams. Louisville dropped seven places to 10th while Auburn and LSU fought to keep their top positions and tied for first at 3-under.
The Maroon and White managed to beat the odds and climbed to sixth place after finishing Round 1 tied for seventh. Graduate student Jennie Park led the Aggies and shot an even 72 while the average score for Round 2 held closer to 76. Cernousek shot 3-over but still kept her place near the top of the individual leaderboard tied for fourth.
Filler didn’t let the rain get to her and recorded four birdies to post a 69 to keep her No. 1 position on the leaderboard.
Round 3 was a back and forth battle for the individual title between LSU junior Aine Donegan, LSU graduate student Ingrid Lindblad and Filler. Donegan posted three birdies in the front nine but fell to a bogey and double-bogey in the back nine. Lindblad made a surprising leap to second after posting five birdies in the back nine. Filler struggled in the round with three bogeys but made up for it with two birdies and steady play.
Park recorded three birdies back-to-back-to-back and soared the leaderboard to tie for 15th. Cernousek fought for a top five spot and sealed a tie for fourth place at 4-under.
Filler secured the individual title at 9-under with Donegan and Lindblad tied for the second place position just three strokes behind.
The team title was awarded with a 16-stroke difference between first and second place. LSU swept the tournament and posted 14-under 850. Auburn placed second with 2-over 866.
A&M climbed the leaderboard once more with a tie for fifth place with Florida at 9-over 873.
The Maroon and White are set to tee off at the Tournament Course at Golf Course of Houston in Humble for the Chevron Collegiate on Feb. 26-27.
