April 10, 2015

Round 1 Results

TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 4 South Carolina carded a round of even-par 288 on the first day of the PING/ASU Invitational to wrap up the day in a tie for fourth place, four strokes behind leader Arkansas. Senior Justine Dreher fired a 2-under 70 to lead the Gamecock lineup on the first day at the ASU Karsten Golf Course.

Playing as an individual, sophomore Jia Xin Yang matched her best collegiate round with a 3-under 69 to end the day in a tie for fourth. Yang posted six birdies, second most in the field.

Dreher made the turn at 1-over, but rallied on the back nine to finish with a 70 to tie for ninth after the first 18 holes. Arizona native Sarah Schmelzel had a chance to match Dreher’s number, but struggled on No. 18. Ultimately, the junior carded a 2-over 72 and is in 24th place.

Sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh and junior Mary Fran Hillow both finished the day at 1-over and are tied for 29th. The Gamecocks dropped Ainhoa Olarra’s score. The freshman carded a 3-over 75.

After firing a 284 (-4), Arkansas holds a two-stroke advantage on Duke after the opening round. Host Arizona State is in third at 1-under. The Gamecocks are tied with Stanford and Arizona at even-par in fourth.

Duke’s Leona Maguire wrapped up the day at the top of the individual leaderboard with a 6-under 66. Alabama’s Lakareber Abe and Stanford’s Lauren Kim are two strokes behind at 4-under (68). South Carolina’s Yang is tied with four others at 3-under.

NOTABLES

• As a team, the Gamecocks led the field in par-4 scoring (-1).
• The South Carolina lineup produced 64 pars, second-most in the field.
• Jia Xin Yang’s six birdies were the second most of the field.
• Katelyn Dambaugh’s steady round produced 15 pars, the most recorded by an individual in the first round.

UP NEXT The Gamecocks continue the PING/ASU Invitational with the second round tomorrow beginning at 11:45 a.m. ET. Follow along with live scoring here.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS T4. Jia Xin Yang (Ind.) 69 (-3)
T9. Justine Dreher (1) 70 (-2)
T24. Sarah Schmelzel (2) 72 (E)
T29. Katelyn Dambaugh (3) 73 (+1)
T29. Mary Fran Hillow (5) 73 (+1)
T53. Ainhoa Olarra (4) 75 (+3)

TEAM STANDINGS 1. Arkansas 284 (-4)
2. Duke 286 (-2)
3. Arizona State 287 (-1)
T4. South Carolina 288 (E)
T4. Stanford 288 (E)
T4. Arizona 288 (E)
T7. Alabama 289 (+1)
T7. Southern California 289 (+1)
9. Washington 290 (+2)
10. Texas 291 (+3)
T11. Baylor 292 (+4)
T11. UCLA 292 (+4)
13. Oklahoma 293 (+5)
14. UNLV 296 (+8)
15. San Diego State 302 (+14)