After the conclusion of the final round in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, the Georgia women’s golf team were unable to advance their position in the rankings on the team leaderboard and finished fifth in the field of fifteen. The Lady Bulldogs shot a solid 4-over par 292 as a team on the day and finished the 54-hole event at the Rio Mar River Course with an 884 over the three rounds.
“You want to win, but at the same time it’s a great teaching tool for all of us,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “We haven’t played in four months. When you finally get out there and play a tournament, you know the areas where you have to get better. There are no glaring weaknesses, just some things we need to tighten up. We have three months to do that, and we will.”
Individually, senior Harang Lee and sophomore Bailey Tardy posted top-20 efforts. Lee tied for 12th at 3-over 219, while Tardy tied for 18th at 5-over 221. In addition, Jillian Hollis tied for 24th at 223, Rinko Mitsunaga tied for 38th at 226, Mary Ellen Shuman tied for 56th at 231 and Sammi Lee placed 68th at 231.
On Tuesday, Tardy posted the Bulldogs’ low loop with a 2-under 70. Lee signed for a 1-under 71, and Georgia also counted a 73 from Hollis and a 78, the score recorded by both Mitsunaga and Shuman. Sammi Lee, who was competing as an individual, also shot 78.
Tardy teed off from No. 10 with Tuesday’s shotgun start and enjoyed a very steady day. After a bogey at No. 10, she immediately birdied No. 11 and posted 10 consecutive pars. Additional birdies at No. 4 and No. 8, her final hole of the day, moved her to 2-under.
Harang Lee also played consistently throughout her round. She teed off at No. 8 and birdied No. 9 and No. 16 to move to 2-under. After giving a stroke back with a bogey at No. 17, Lee birdied No. 1 to return to 2-under. She finished at 1-under following her second bogey of the day at No. 6.
N.C. State captured the team title after shooting 3-under 285 on Tuesday and finishing at 877. That was a single stroke better than No. 8 Furman and No. 15 Kent. State. Rounding out the top-10 teams were TCU at 883, the Bulldogs at 884, No. 23 Baylor at 887, Texas Tech at 893, No. 9 Arkansas at 895, Michigan at 896 and Iowa State at 900.
Georgia was the tournament’s defending champion, one of five team titles for the Bulldogs a year ago before they finished 18th at the NCAA Championships.
“We started last spring with a win and then ended it with a feeling that left us hungry,” Brewer said. “This week has given us that hungry feeling now. We’ll get back to work and try to flip the script this year where we end the season with the win that we’re all working toward.”
Georgia will return to action in three weeks when they play in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C.
Tuesday’s Final-Round Standings
Lady Puerto Rico Classic
Rio Mar River Course
Rio Mar, P.R.
Par 72; 6164 Yards
Team Leaderboard
N.C. State 303-289-285=877
Furman 290-293-295=878
Kent State 293-293-292=878
TCU 294-296-293=883
Georgia 294-298-292=884
Baylor 298-295-294=887
Texas Tech 292-301-300=893
Arkansas 299-292-304=895
Michigan 298-294-304=896
Iowa State 305-302-293=900
Purdue 308-298-298=904
Vanderbilt 308-302-296=906
Augusta 305-303-299=907
Maryland 315-301-295=911
LSU 299-306-307=912
Individual Leaderboard
Amy Lee, Baylor 71-71-73=215
Haylee Harford, Furman 70-69-76=215
Maria Besga, Baylor 70-73-72=215
Naomi Ko, N.C. State 74-71-70=215
Panitta Yusabai, Maryland 72-73-70=215
Taylor Totland, Furman 71-73-72=216
Gabby Barker, Texas Tech 72-70-75=217
Celia Barquin, Iowa State 72-73-72=217
Sarah Bae, N.C. State 78-70-70=218
Amelia Grohn, Iowa State 78-71-69=218
Emmy Martin, TCU 73-72-73=218
Additional Georgia Scores
T12. Harang Lee, Georgia 75-73-71=219
T18. Bailey Tardy, Georgia 71-80-70=218
T24. Jillian Hollis, Georgia 77-73-73=223
T38. Rinko Mitsunaga, Georgia 71-77-78=226
T56. Mary Ellen Shuman, Georgia 78-75-78=231
68.*Sammi Lee, Georgia 77-80-78=235
* competing as an individual