No. 2 Gamecocks Tied for Third at Gamecock Intercollegiate

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C.  –  Senior Lois Kaye Go paced the South Carolina women’s golf team on Monday, shooting a 3-under 69 to earn a share of the lead as the Gamecocks sit in a tie for third with a 1-under 287 after the opening round of the Gamecock Intercollegiate at the Columbia Country Club. 

Go weathered the storm, literally, as the skies opened up when she approached the tee at the first hole, to go even par through the first two holes before getting her first birdie of the day on hole three. Go was steady through the rest of her front nine. After shooting for par on hole 10 Go sank another birdie on 11 before going for par on holes 12-17 and finished the day with a birdie on 18 to finish her lowest round of the season at 3-under 69, locked in a six-way tie atop the leaderboard. 

Though she’s playing as an individual this week, freshman Paula Kirner showed off the depth of the Carolina squad, notching her collegiate career low with a 2-under 70. Kirner bogeyed her first hole of the day but locked in from there to sink birdies on three, five and 10 to finish with her best round as a Gamecock. She’s tied for seventh after the first round. 

Sophomore Pauline Roussin-Bouchard continues to show why she is one of the best players in the world, opening her round with eight straight holes at par before stumbling with a bogey on nine. After the turn Roussin-Bouchard got back to business, shooting even par on holes 10-12 before sinking birdies on 13 and 15 on her way to a 1-under 71. Roussin-Bouchard has either shot for par or came in under par in nine of her 11 rounds this season. 

Senior Pimnipa Panthong started the day rough with five bogeys in her first 10 holes, but displayed the mentality that’s carried her to three All-America honors and locked in from hole 11 onward. Panthong got her first birdie of the day on hole 12, and finished the round with four straight birdies to shoot an even par 72. 

“Really solid finish for the Gamecocks today,” head coach Kalen Anderson said after the round. “I’m really proud of how we brought it in. It was a bit of a slow start, we couldn’t get birdies going but the hole locations were hard. We hung in there and kept ourselves in the tournament. Saw a good round by Lois today and we’re excited to get out there tomorrow and hopefully catch a little bit of fire and see what we can do.”

Senior Ana Pelaez and sophomore Mathilde Claisse both went 3-over on Monday, while freshman Kaiyuree Moodley shot a 2-over 74 in her first collegiate action while competing as an individual.  

The Gamecocks tee off at 9 a.m. tomorrow in a shotgun start. Upon completion of round two the teams will start round three and play until 5:45 Tuesday afternoon with the intention of finishing the final round on Wednesday, weather permitting. If that proves impossible the winner will be crowed from the 36-hole score.

2021 Gamecock Intercollegiate Leaderboard – Round One

1. Duke – 282 (-6)
2. LSU – 286 (-2)
T3. South Carolina – 287 (-1)
T3. Mississippi State – 287 (-1)
T3. Auburn – 287 (-1)
T6. Wake Forest – 290 (+2)
T6. North Carolina – 290 (+2)
8. Vanderbilt – 291 (+3)
T9. Ole Miss – 294 (+6)
T9. Baylor – 294 (+6)
11. Kentucky – 298 (+10)
T12. Arkansas – 299 (+11)
T12. Alabama – 299 (+11)
14. Texas A&M – 300 (+12)
15. Georgia – 301 (+13)
16. Florida – 302 (+14)
17. Tennessee – 303 (+15)
18. Furman – 309 (+21)

Gamecock Leaderboard

T1. Lois Kaye Go – 69 (-3)
T7. Paula Kirner (I) – 70 (-2)
T16. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard – 71 (-1)
T20. Pimnipa Panthong – 72 (E)
T35. Kaiyuree Moodley – 74 (+2)
T47. Ana Pelaez – 75 (+3)
T47. Mathilde Claisse – 75 (+3)