April 1, 2017

BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. — South Carolina women’s golf sits in fifth place at the Bryan National Collegiate after opening the event with 36 holes Saturday at the Bryan Park Golf Course. The No. 11 Gamecocks carded a 293 (+5) this morning before posting a 289 (+1) in the afternoon portion to bring their two-round total to 582 (+6).

Third-ranked Alabama (573, -3) sits atop the leaderboard with one round to play, while No. 9 Georgia (578, +2) and No. 20 Baylor (579, +3) round out the top three. The Crimson Tide’s Lauren Stephenson holds the individual lead with a 36-hole mark of 137 (-7).

Gamecock freshman Ana Pelaez (143, -1) paced Carolina Saturday, turning in rounds of 72 (E) and 71 (-1). The Malaga, Spain, native will head into the final day in a tie for ninth place after registering five birdies through the first two rounds. She was steady in the morning session, totaling 14 pars to go with birdies on Nos. 12 and 15, and two of her birdies in round two came after the turn. Pelaez shot par or better on eight of her final nine holes Saturday in a stretch highlighted by birdies on Nos. 15 and 17.

Carolina sophomore Marion Veysseyre also enjoyed a solid start to the tournament, opening with a 1-over 73 in the morning. The Lachapelle-Auzac, France, native, who recorded 14 pars, a pair of birdies and two bogeys in her second round en route to an even 72, currently sits in a tie for 17th place at 1-over 145.

Junior Ainhoa Olarra (T21, +2) posted a first-round 74 (+2) before carding a 72 (E) this afternoon. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 sparked a front-nine 36 (-1) in her opening round, and Olarra added three more birdies in the afternoon, with all three coming over the first 10 holes.

Jia Xin Yang is outside the top 20 in a tie for 29th place following one day of action. She shot a first-round 74 (+2) before turning in another 74 this afternoon. The senior finished strong, recording birdies on each of her final two holes of the day.

Sophomore Isidora Nilsson is tied for 74th with a 36-hole mark of 158 (+14). She fired a 10-over 82 in round one and posted a 76 (+4) in the afternoon session. Senior Marianna Monaco, who is competing as an individual this week, totaled a two-round score of 157 (+13) to end the day in a tie for 69th.

Quoting Coach Kalen Anderson

Round Changer

Notable

• Carolina’s 3.08 par-3 scoring average Saturday was the second-best mark among the 18 teams at the Bryan Park Golf Course.
• Gamecock freshman Ana Pelaez has shot par or better in the opening round in each of her last four tournaments dating back to the 2016 Landfall Tradition.
• Pelaez’s 27 pars through two rounds lead the Gamecocks and sit as the third-best total in the tournament.
• Junior Ainhoa Olarra boasted a 2.63 par-3 scoring average on day one to rank second in the category in the 96-player field.

Up Next

The Gamecocks are back on the course Sunday morning for the final round of the Bryan National Collegiate. It will be a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. ET, and Carolina will be paired with Baylor and Virginia.