Gamecocks in Fifth after Opening Round in Louisville

SIMPSONVILLE, Ky.  –  The No. 1-seed South Carolina women’s golf team got on track through the back nine to sit in fifth place after the first round of the NCAA Louisville Regional at the University of Louisville Golf Club on Monday. 

Senior Ana Pelaez is tied for fifth after her opening round 1-under (71). After carding a bogey on the first hole Pelaez got in her zone, shooting par for the next seven holes before closing the front nine with a birdie. The senior had an up and down start to her back nine with a pair of bogeys pushing her to 2-over, but she locked in, birdying her final three holes and finish at 1-under for the day. 

Sophomore Mathilde Claisse had the most consistent round of the day, finishing her front nine at 1-over but righting the ship immediately after the turn with a birdie on 10, and added another birdie on 17 to finish at 1-under, tied for fifth. 

“Overall a pretty good day for the Gamecocks,” head coach Kalen Anderson said after Monday’s round. “Wasn’t our best scoring day, but definitely faced challenging conditions. It was a cold morning and windy, we didn’t get a solid practice round in yesterday due to the weather so there was some adjusting. This course has a lot of teeth to it and we did a good job learning it and minimizing mistakes. Ana and Mathilde had fantastic rounds, 1-under is really good out here. We just need to tighten up a little bit of the sloppiness, but overall we’re in an okay position for the rest of the week.”

The Gamecocks tee off for the second round at 9 a.m. on Tuesday

NCAA Louisville Regional Leaderboard – Round One

1. Florida State – 286 (-2)
2. UCLA – 291 (+3)
3. Michigan State – 292 (+4)
4. Louisville – 293 (+5)
5. South Carolina – 295 (+7)
6. Auburn – 296 (+8)
7. Texas – 297 (+9)
T8. UCF – 299 (+11)
T8. Arkansas – 299 (+11)
T8. Tennessee – 299 (+11)
11. Texas Tech – 301 (+13)
T12. Mercer – 302 (+14)
T12. North Florida – 302 (+14)
T14. UTSA – 303 (+15)
T14. James Madison – 303 (+15)
16. College of Charleston – 305 (+17)
17. Xavier – 306 (+18)
18. Farleigh Dickinson – 314 (+26)

Gamecock Leaderboard

T5. Ana Pelaez – 71 (-1)
T5. Mathilde Claisse – 71 (-1)
T43. Lois Kaye Go – 76 (+4)
T54. Paula Kirner – 77 (+5)
T82. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard – 79 (+7)