Women's Golf . April 14, 2021

Pelaez and Gamecocks Shatter Records at SEC Championship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 1 South Carolina women’s golf team hit the gas from the start of the opening round SEC Championship, shooting the lowest round score in tournament history, while senior Ana Pelaez notched the lowest individual SEC Championship round ever on Wednesday at Greystone Golf & Country Club.

The Gamecocks finished the opening round at 16-under (272), tied for first and now tied for the lowest round in SEC Championship history, breaking the previous record of 275 by three strokes. The score blew the previous first round low score record, 280, out of the water. The score also tops the previous program record for lowest round, 273, set earlier this season at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.

Pelaez bested the previous low round score, 65, and the previous low first round score, 66, with her 8-under (64) on Wednesday. The senior shot for par on her first two holes before notching an eagle hole No. 3 and added birdies on holes No. 6 and No. 7 to finish her front nine at 4-under. After the turn Pelaez sank a birdie on No. 10 and then tallied three birdies in a row on holes 15-17 to finish the day bogey free with an 8-under 64, the lowest round of her career and tied for second lowest round in Gamecock golf history.

“A great start for the Gamecocks at the first round of the SEC Championship,” head coach Kalen Anderson said after Wednesday’s round. “16-under for the team and 8-under for Ana… what an incredible round today, she caught fire. We’re going to have to keep the pedal down for the rest of the week. The course is very scorable, it’s not playing real long, it’s playing fast. Looking forward to making a lot more birdies.”

Sophomore Pauline Roussin-Bouchard was no slouch herself, posting a 5-under (67). Roussin-Bouchard lit things up on the front nine with five birdies and recovered from a double-bogey on hole No. 11 to sink birdies on three of her final four holes to finish with a round leading eight birdies, and tied for fourth place.

Fellow sophomore Mathilde Claisse notched the lowest round of her career, finishing Wednesday with a 3-under (69), tied for 16th place. Claisse started strong with birdies on holes three and five, and found the zone on hole No. 7 to tally an eagle, joining Pelaez as the only players to sink eagles in the round. Claisse stumbled on a couple holes but added another birdie on her back nine to finish with her best score as a Gamecock to date.

The Gamecocks tee off for the second round at 9:40 a.m. on Thursday

2021 SEC Championship Leaderboard – Round One

T1. South Carolina – 272 (-16)
T1. LSU – 272 (-16)
3. Mississippi State – 275 (-13)
T4. Auburn – 279 (-9)
T4. Ole Miss – 279 (-9)
T4. Florida – 279 (-9)
T4. Arkansas – 279 (-9)
8. Alabama – 280 (-8)
9. Vanderbilt – 281 (-7)
10. Tennessee – 286 (-2)
11. Kentucky – 287 (-1)
12. Georgia – 290 (+2)
13. Texas A&M – 291 (+3)
14. Missouri – 293 (+5)