No. 11 Gamecocks in Third at 2019 SEC Championships

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 11 South Carolina women’s golf finds itself alone in third place at the 2019 SEC Women’s Golf Championships after Wednesday’s opening round. The Gamecocks finished the day shooting 1-under par (287) at Greystone Golf and Country Club.
 
“We started out real strong, I liked the way [the team] came out,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson said. “The team was very confident, very aggressive. We did have a little stumble on the back nine, but they finished really strong. It is a long tournament, but it is a really solid start to the tournament.”
 
Carolina is just three strokes back of the co-leaders, No. 12 Florida and No. 14 Auburn (284). After South Carolina in third, No. 6 Arkansas (291) and No. 40 Georgia (293) round out the top five. No. 41 Tennessee and No. 47 Mississippi State (294) are tied for sixth place and No. 4 Vanderbilt are the final teams in the top eight. Eight teams will make the cut for match play, which begins Saturday.
 
Junior Lois Kaye Go was Carolina’s top finisher, carding three birdies to finish in a tie for fourth with a 2-under 70. Go ripped off three-straight birdies at holes 12, 13 and 14. Go’s 2-under 34 in the final nine holes was the Gamecocks best finish on the back nine.   
 
“I thought I played really well today,” Go said after the round. “I was hitting and putting well today. The three birdies came off of shots that I stuck within about two feet two of the times and about six or seven feet on the other one. I thought it was a pretty solid round all together.”
 
Freshman Emily Price got a taste of her first postseason action on Wednesday. The rookie posted a team high five birdies to finish with a 1-under 71. Of her five birdies, her 25-foot putt at the par-3 8th was her biggest highlight. Price will enter the second day of stroke play in a tie for sixth.
 
After two holes, Ana Pelaez found herself three over, but thanks to four birdies in her final 15 holes, she finished the round with an even 72 to finish in a tie for 14th. The junior roared back after her slow start with three birdies on the front nine, and then polished off her round with a birdie on the par-5 18th.
 
In her final SEC Championship, senior Marion Veysseyre was able to post a 2-over 74 to finish in a tie for 28th. She registered four birdies, the second most for Carolina in the opening round. She was able to bounce back after back-to-back double bogeys on the back nine by hitting a long birdie putt on the par-5 18th.
 
Anita Uwadia’s 3-over 75 was the final score of the day for Carolina. She was able to card three birdies during her 2-under 34 on the front nine, but a tough back nine saw her finish in a tie for 36th.
 
In the second round of stroke play the Gamecocks will be paired with the co-leaders, Florida and Auburn, in the final grouping on Thursday. Uwadia will tee off first for the Gamecocks from hole No. 1 at 10:40 a.m. ET, with each of the final four Gamecocks teeing off every 10 minutes after Uwadia.
 
Make sure to follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@GamecockWGolf) and on Facebook to stay up to date with the Gamecocks.
 
GAMECOCK LEADERBOARD – Round One Stroke Play
T4. Lois Kaye Go – 70 (-2)
T6. Emily Price – 71 (-1)
T14. Ana Pelaez – 72 (E)
T28. Marion Veysseyre – 74 (+2)
T36. Anita Uwadia – 75 (+3)
 
TEAM STANDINGS – Round One Stroke Play
T1. Florida – 284 (-4)
T1. Auburn – 284 (-4)
3. South Carolina – 287 (-1)
4. Arkansas – 291 (+3)
5. Georgia – 293 (+5)
T6. Tennessee – 294 (+6)
T6. Mississippi State – 294 (+6)
8. Vanderbilt – 296 (+8)
9. Ole Miss – 298 (+10)
T10. Missouri – 299 (+11)
T10. LSU – 299 (+11)
12. Texas A&M – 300 (+12)
13. Alabama – 301 (+13)
14. Kentucky – 304 (+16)