Monday in Sunset, South Carolina, Texas A&M Women’s Golf moved from ninth to fifth place in the second round of the Clemson Invitational on Lake Keowee at The Reserve.
The Aggies shot at 1-under 287 in round two of the tournament. A&M is placed ahead of three top-25 teams and six top-50 squads.
“Despite the difficult conditions with the rain delay, the girls did a good job staying patient and in the game the whole time,” A&M’s head coach Andrea Gaston said to 12thman.com. “They made some great shots throughout the round, and gave themselves good opportunities to make some birdies. Our goal was to improve the scoring on par 5s today, and we definitely accomplished that. This team now knows they can be consistent on this course, and there is no reason why they can’t unleash all their potential out tomorrow.”
Courtney Dow was A&M’s leader during round two on Monday with a 3-under 69. Dow finished the round with birdies on three of her last six holes and ended with a 36-hole total of 140 (-4). Dow is tied for eighth place after day two of the invitational and is only four shots behind tournament co-leaders Julie McCarthy of Auburn and Micheala Williams of Tennessee.
Ava Scwienteck, similar to her teammate Dow, who had a red number on Monday, took 70 shots to get around the Nicklaus-designed course. The course includes a sloping terrain and a lakefront finish. Scwienteck is tied for 26th at even-par 144 in the Clemson Invitational after her 2-under performance.
The Aggies’ performance throughout round two on Monday makes the sixth time in the last eight rounds that A&M has shot even-par or better. No. 7 Vanderbilt is in first place in the Clemson Invitational at 21-under par in an eighteen-team field that holds five members of the top 25 and also ten teams that rank in the top 50.
“It’s great to see the girls coming together and playing for each other at this time of year,” Coach Gaston said to 12thman.com. “We are excited to see what the postseason has in store for us.”
Texas A&M’s Amber Park’s performance stayed consistent during round two of the tournament. Park shot a 2-over 74 on the par 72 /6,260-yard course on Monday to tie for 26th at even-par for the Clemson Invitational. A&M’s Brooke Tyree’s performance dropped in day two and is now currently tied for 57th, dropping nineteen places from round one, after finishing with a 3-over 75. The Aggies’ Katie Finley’s performance improved dramatically from day one to finish with a 2-over 74 and to now be tied for 75th, an improvement of ten places from day one.
Collectively, Texas A&M Women’s Golf has played the four par-3s at a tournament-best of 7-under par.
The third and final round of the Clemson Invitational takes place Tuesday, April 9, with Texas A&M teeing off at 7:54 a.m. CT.