VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Penn State women's golf team is back in action as they hit the road for the Evie Odom Invitational hosted by Old Dominion University at the Princess Anne Country Club this week.
The tournament will feature three single round days beginning Friday morning with split tee times starting at 8:30 a.m.
Live scoring for the event is available HERE.
YAY FOR YAYA
Freshman Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun (Bangkok, Thailand) paced the Penn State women's golf team their last time out at the Cavalier Regional Preview with her first-career top-10 finish in a tie for sixth at 1-under, 212 (68-71-73). Yaya helped the Nittany Lions finish the week just one stroke outside the top-5 in seventh at Birdwood Golf Course in Charlottesville.
Jiratthitinun came out of the gates strong firing an opening round 3-under, 68, on Monday morning and was tied for the lead after her first 18 holes which featured six birdies, including a stretch of four-straight on holes 5-8. Jiratthitinun had six birdies to three bogeys on the round and finished the week with a team-high 12 birdies and an eagle. The freshman carded an even par second round and 2-over, 73, in the final round on Tuesday to finish the week 1-under, 212, and tied for sixth.
Jiratthitinun is leading the team through the first three tournaments of the fall with a 73.00 stroke average through the opening nine rounds of her collegiate career.
THE TEAM
Jiratthitinun will be joined in the starting lineup this week by senior classmates Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.), Michelle Cox (Allentown, Pa.) and Jami Morris (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) along with freshman Lauren Thompstone (Paris, France).
Fellow freshman Gwendolyn Powell (Madison Township, Pa.) will play the weekend as an individual.
Nienhaus and Cox are right behind Jiratthitinun on the year with stroke averages of 73.89 and 74.00, respectively. Nienhaus had her best finish of the season three weeks ago at the Nittany Lion Invitational finishing tied for third at even-par, 216, her best career finish.
COURSE & TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
The par-70 layout spans 5,824 yards and features four par-5s along with six challenging par-3s.
Opening in 2008, the first-rate golf course winds through stands of stately pines and live oaks and along narrow waterways.
This year will mark the sixth time the ODU women’s golf program has hosted a collegiate tournament at the Princess Anne Country Club and this will be the fourth year under the name Evie Odom Invitational.
Tournament namesake Evie Odom made the largest contribution to a women's sport in the history of ODU Athletics. Her support of ODU women’s golf and specifically this tournament gives the team a tremendous boost in their ability to compete nationally.
UCF won last year's tournament with a 10-over par 850, Kent State was the runner up with a 15-over 855, and Chattanooga took third with a 20-over 860. Of those three schools only Kent State is part of the 2024 field.
THE FIELD
A total of 14 teams and eight individuals make up the 78-player field set to compete with Penn State being the lone Big Ten team in this week’s field.
Chattanooga, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Furman, James Madison, Miami, North Florida, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Penn State, Princeton, Richmond, Sacramento State, and Western Kentucky make up the full field.
NEXT UP
Penn State takes the next few weeks off before closing out the fall portion of its schedule at the Landfall Tradition prior to Halloween.