April 12, 2003

South Carolina senior All-American Kristy McPherson and junior Adrienne Gautreaux are tied for first and third place, respectively, after the first day of competition at the Lady Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Indiana. Saturday’s first-round consisted of 36 holes with Sunday’s final round promising 18 more challenging holes on the 5,900-yard, par 72 Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

McPherson “dusted off the rust” Saturday by firing a two-under par 70 to take a two-stroke lead after 18 holes. She returned in the afternoon with a 78 on the second round of 18 to finish in a tie for the lead with Jessica Shepley of Tennessee at four-over-par 148. McPherson, who sat out last weekend’s Liz Murphey Classic to fulfill an NCAA requirement, shot a 34 on the front and a 36 on the back side of her first 18 holes for a 70, the tournament’s lowest round of the day.

On her first 18 holes, Lady Gamecock Adrienne Gautreaux shot a 76 to jump into a seven-way tie at 15th place. But the Mabank Texas native returned in the afternoon to card a one-over-par 73 on the second 18 holes to catapult herself up to a third-place 149, one shot behind the leaders.

McPherson has finished in the top five in four events this year and tied for first place in the Bryan National Collegiate (in March) before losing the tiebreaker. Her lowest round of the season was the 69 that she shot in the first round of the Bryan. Gautreaux has recorded three top 20 finishes this season with her two 15th place outings at the Lady Gamecock and the Auburn Tiger Derby Invitational. Gautreaux fired a 70 at the Lady Gamecock Classic for her lowest round of the season.

Both USC golfers are competing as individuals in the 13-team field as a tune-up for next weekend’s SEC Championship in Lexington, Kentucky.

McPherson and Gautreaux are also getting a preview of the Kampen course which will host the 2003 NCAA Championships in late May. The entire South Carolina team competed in the NCAA Fall Preview at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in September with McPherson finishing tied for 10th and Gautreaux tying for 50th place.

“Participating in the Lady Boilermaker Invitational was a great opportunity for Kristy and Adrienne as they both lost some competition days lately due to the bad weather and other circumstances,” said South Carolina head coach Kristi Coggins. “Both ladies played well on Saturday throughout the exhausting 36-hole first round and have put themselves in a position to challenge for the title on Sunday.”