HANAHAN, S.C. – Led by senior Jackie Rogowicz's (Yardley, Pa.) even-par finish, the Penn State women's golf team secured a tie for 11th place in a weather shortened Cougar Classic hosted by the College of Charleston at Yeamans Hall Club.
The tournament was shortened to 36 holes on Monday afternoon when the state of South Carolina issued mandatory evacuations due to the approach of Hurricane Florence set to make landfall later in the week. Florence intensified to a category 4 hurricane early Monday morning with maximum sustained winds approaching 130 mph.
With a stacked field featuring seven teams ranked inside the top-25 nationally, the Nittany Lions finished at 8-over par with a two-round score of 584 after posting rounds of 291 (3-over) and 293 (5-over). Penn State was also able to finish above fellow Big Ten schools Maryland (plus-15) and Indiana (Plus-16) who finished 14th and 15th respectively in the 19-team field.
The University of Florida captured the championship with a two-round score of 546 (30-under) with Vanderbilt finishing three strokes behind at 549 (27-under) while Arkansas (16-under), Furman (11-under) and Florida State (8-under) rounded out the top-5.
Sunday's opening round was also suspended late in the afternoon as storms passed through the area as the Nittany Lions sat at 1-under par through 15 holes of play. Only three teams finished play on Sunday with the remaining 16 concluding the first round early Monday morning.
After the opening round, Penn State was in a tie for eighth place at 3-over (291) with Rogowicz and classmate Lauren Waller's (Canonsburg, Pa.) scores of even-par 72 pacing the team in a tie for 26th individually.
Freshman Sarah Willis impressed in her Nittany Lion debut shooting a one-over round of 73 while junior Ashni Dhruva (Katy, Tx.) shot a 2-over 74 and senior Cara Basso (Downingtown, Pa.) finished the opening round at 3-over with a 75.
Penn State had a quick turnover after finishing the first round as they began round two just after 10 a.m. with Rogowicz firing her second-consecutive round of 72 to finish the tournament tied for 28th. The senior registered eight birdies for the tournament with five bogeys and one triple.
"I wouldn't say that any part of my game was great, but I hit some really good shots when I needed to," commented Rogowicz. "I did a good job staying patient and knowing that even if I dropped a few shots that there were a lot of birdie opportunities out there."
Dhruva also shot an even-par 72 in the second round to finish the tournament at 2-over with a 146 to tie for 35th.
The Nittany Lions will take this weekend off from competition before hosting their annual Nittany Lion Invitational on September 22-23 at the Penn State Blue Course.
Full Results
TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Due to the approach of Hurricane Florence, the 15th Annual Cougar Classic was shortened to 36 holes.
- Florida won the team title (-30) for the third time in tournament history next to 2012 and 2013.
- Florida's Sierra Brooks shot a final-round 62 which marked the lowest round in tournament history. She was the individual medalist with a 36-hole total of 127 (-17).
- Brooks was the fourth-ever Florida player to win the tournament individual title next to Camilla Hedberg in 2012, Anna Young in 2013 and Taylor Tomlinson in 2015.