HANAHAN, S.C. – The Penn State women's golf team finished the 19th annual Cougar Classic 17th following a final round 4-over, 288, on Tuesday afternoon. The 4-over final round score was the lowest of the week for the Nittany Lions.
Ole Miss finished at the top of the 17-team field with a score of 36-under while LSU (31-under), Clemson (30-under), UCF (23-under) and Kentucky (20-under) rounded out the top-5.
With play suspended in the middle of the second round on Monday afternoon due to inclement weather, the field got out bright and early Tuesday morning to conclude the middle round before starting the third and final round.
Junior Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) had a spectacular day of golf on Tuesday finishing her last 20 holes at 4-under par. Nienhaus turned in cards of 70 (1-under) and 69 (2-under) on Tuesday finishing the week tied for 28th at 3-under, 210, for the championship moving up 11 spots following an opening round even-par, 71. Nienhaus' 3-under par score marks the lowest 54-hole score of her Nittany Lion career.
"I was really confident in my swing this week, and I felt like I knew the course well," commented Nienhaus. "I was hitting a lot of fairways and making a lot of putts which contributed to my success. I feel like I have been working hard with our two new coaches and learning a lot and it's nice to see my game improve because of that."
Junior Michelle Cox (Allentown, Pa.) started the week strong with a 2-under, 69, in the first round en route to an even-par, 213, finish and a tie for 39th in the 96-player field finishing the week with an even-par, 71, on Tuesday afternoon.
Graduate transfer Carlota Garcia (Salamanca, Spain) and junior Jami Morris (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) each carded their best rounds of the week on Tuesday afternoon with a 2-over, 73, and a 4-over, 75, respectively, to round out the countable team scores.
Making her starting lineup debut, sophomore Myranda Quinton (Burlington, Ontario) opened the week turning in countable team scores with rounds of 75 and 74, before struggling a bit over her final 18 holes.
"Overall, I thought the team did a great job making adjustments last night and executing them on the course today," mentioned head coach Kristen Simpson. "I loved seeing them fight and battle back with a good final round."
Full results available HERE!
Penn State returns to Happy Valley for the 47th annual Nittany Lion Invitational at the Penn State Blue Course this weekend. Rounds 1 & 2 will be played on Saturday with the final round on Sunday morning.
