HILTON HEAD, S.C. — Ava Merrill’s team-leading 69 set the pace for Vanderbilt women’s golf in Monday’s opening round at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. The Commodores sit in third place after the first round of action at Long Cove Club thanks to a 6-over 290 team score.
“I’m really proud of the toughness we showed today, especially early in the round,” said head coach Greg Allen. “Long Cove played as difficult as I can remember in recent years, and I thought the girls played with a lot of poise. Starting in the back and having to play Nos. 10-14 right out of the gate isn’t easy and we handled it well.”
Vanderbilt only holed one birdie on its first nine holes before catching fire and knocking down six on the back. Ava Merrill holed three birdies to push her into second place individually at 2-under par.
“Ava played great today and made some huge par saves down the stretch,” Allen said. “The tougher the golf course plays, the better she gets.”
Angelina Tolentino finished with a 1-over 72. Tillie Claggett notched a 74 and Lynn Lim had a 75. Sara Im rounded out the Commodore lineup with a 77. Competing as an individual, Charlene Chung shot a 78.
“I’m so impressed with Angelina finishing the way she did,” Allen said. “This was another big growing moment for her today. I thought Tillie, Lynn and Ava hung in there despite not having their best stuff.”
After the opening 18 holes, the field is tightly packed with the top seven schools separated by three strokes. Vanderbilt enters the second round just two behind clubhouse leader Arkansas.
“This team has a great opportunity to take a big step forward in the next couple of days,” said Allen. “We just need to continue with the same mindset.”
Vanderbilt will tee off the second round at 7:30 a.m. CT with Duke and Kentucky. Golf Channel will once again cover action from 1:30-4:30 p.m. CT. Live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
