HANAHAN, S.C. – The Penn State women's golf team concluded play at the 21st annual Cougar Classic hosted by the College of Charleston at Yeamans Hall Club finishing 16th in the 18-team field at 25-over, 877.
Ole Miss secured the championship finishing 18-under, two strokes clear of Tennessee (16-under) in second while Florida (9-under), UCF (4-under) and Clemson (3-under) rounded out the top-five as the only schools under par for the week.
“Being a very young team, there were some ups and downs, but we learned a lot. We’ll focus on fine-tuning a few areas to build greater consistency as we prepare for the Nittany Lion Invitational in two weeks.”
Kristen SimpsonHead CoachPenn State was paced by freshman Lillian Guleserian (Westwood, Mass.) who climbed 18 spots on the leaderboard on Tuesday after firing a final round 1-under, 70, to finish tied for 34th in the 96-player field at 2-over, 215. The rookie rattled off nine birdies for the week.
“I was really impressed with Lilly’s performance this week,” mentioedn head coach Kristen Simpson. “Today’s round was particularly impressive given the tough conditions. She hit the ball consistently, reaching 15 greens in regulation, with nine of those inside 20 feet. Her putting was sharp, and her speed control was flawless all week. I’m excited to see her kick off her college career with such a strong start.”
Sophomore Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun (Bangkok, Thailand) had her best round to open the tournament with a 1-under, 70, and finished the week in a tied for 49th at 5-over, 218.
Senior Myranda Quinton (Burlington, Ontario) sandwiched a 1-under, 70, between a pair of 76’s to card a 9-over, 222, for the week and finish in a tie for 69th position while freshmen Audrey Lam (Maisieres, Belgium) and sophomore transfer Hannah Rabb (Watsontown, Pa.) rounded out the week at 11-over and 14-over, respectively.
Lam did secure the low round of the week for the Nittany Lions with a 2-under, 69, during the second round on Monday afternoon.
“We saw some really great moments on the course this week,” commented Simpson. “Being a very young team, there were some ups and downs, but we learned a lot. We’ll focus on fine-tuning a few areas to build greater consistency as we prepare for the Nittany Lion Invitational in two weeks.”
Penn State has the next week off from competition before hosting the 48th annual Nittany Lion Invitational at the Penn State Blue Course on September 21-22.