Oct. 30, 2016

WILMINGTON, N.C. — South Carolina women’s golf ended its fall season on a winning note, capturing the 2016 Landfall Tradition Title after boasting the advantage in a scorecard playoff Sunday. The No. 19 Gamecocks posted a final-round 280 (-8) at the Pete Dye Course to pull even with No. 13 Wake Forest with a 54-hole mark of 859 (-5).

The first tiebreaker was the the fifth score of each team Sunday, and both schools matched one another with a 78 (+6). After that, the champion was determined by the fifth score of Saturday’s second round. Carolina freshman Anita Uwadia’s 75 (+3) on day two bested the 78 (+6) of Wake Forest’s Antonia Eberhard and secured the title for the Gamecocks.

Sunday’s win marked the first victory of the season for the Carolina, which saw four golfers shoot under par in the final round. It was the school’s first win at a fall tournament since 2014 and the first time the Gamecocks won the Landfall Tradition in six tries. Carolina positioned itself near the top of the leaderboard following its second-round 282 (-6) Saturday.

Senior standout Katelyn Dambaugh willed the Gamecocks to victory, posting her second-straight 67 (-5) behind seven birdies. The Goose Creek, S.C., native, who tied for fifth with a three-round total of 212 (-4), earned a birdie on her first hole of the day, the par-3 second. She made the turn at 2-under 34 following birdies on Nos. 6 and 9, and she shot par or better on each of her final six holes. Dambaugh’s 3.90 par-4 scoring average this week ranked second in the field.

Ainhoa Olarra marked the Carolina golfer to grab a top-10 finish. She posted a final-round 71 (-1) to end the tournament in a tie for ninth at 2-under 214. The junior registered a pair of birdies on each side of the golf course, and she tallied pars on the last three holes of her round.

Freshmen Ana Pelaez and Uwadia rounded out the remaining Carolina golfers to shoot under par Sunday, as both fired a 1-under 71. Pelaez (T11, -1) finished just outside the top 10, carding four birdies on her final round. Uwadia (T31, +7) boasted her best showing of the week in round three after notching five birdies.

Sophomore Marion Veysseyre placed in a tie for 45th with a 54-hole mark of 226 (+10). She posted a final-round 78 (+6) and ended the week with the second-lowest par-3 scoring average (2.83). Senior Jia Xin Yang, who competed as an individual this week, grabbed her best showing of the season, totaling a 220 (+4) to end in a tie for 21st.

No. 2 Furman (866, +2) grabbed third-place honors, while No. 12 Purdue (872, +8) and No. 24 Oklahoma (877, +13) rounded out the top five. Wake Forest’s Jennifer Kupcho won the individual medalist honors with a three-round score of 207 (-9).

Quoting Coach Kalen Anderson

Round Changer

Notable

• This weekend’s victory gives the Gamecocks their ninth win under head coach Kalen Anderson. It was the second tournament win of 2016 for Carolina, which earned a share of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Title in May.
• South Carolina’s 280 (-8) Sunday was the fifth-lowest lowest round in program history. The performance marked the best 18-hole score ever at the Landfall Tradition.
• With an 859 (-5) this weekend, the Gamecocks boasted the sixth-lowest 54-hole mark in school history. South Carolina shot a program-best 849 (-15) earlier this fall at the 2016 ANNIKA Intercollegiate.
• Junior Ainhoa Olarra’s 214 (-2) marked the lowest 54-hole total of her career. The San Sebastian, Spain, native grabbed her third-career top-10 showing following her ninth-place finish this weekend.
• Katelyn Dambaugh’s showing at the Landfall Tradition was the third-straight top-five finish for the senior. She placed in the top 10 in each of South Carolina’s four tournaments this fall.

Up Next

South Carolina is back in action in February for the start of its spring season. The Gamecocks will announce their full spring slate later this fall.