Women's golf gets new perspective
By: Wayne House
Issue date: 9/25/09 Section: Sports
The Furman women's golf team learned a valuable lesson last weekend - just like Noah, you have to prepare for the rain.
The 38th Lady Paladin Invitational, hosted by the Furman University Golf Course, brought umbrellas and rain suits out of the golf bags as heavy rain all three days led to the cancellation of final round play on Sunday, taking players off the unplayable course and giving the victory to second round leader, Nova Southeastern.
Led by junior Stefanie Kenoyer, the Paladins faltered during the first round, shooting 25-over-par as a team on the back nine holes and finishing the round in a tie for eighth place.
"We didn't come out of the box well," said Furman Head Coach Jen Hanna.
While the back nine at Furman University Golf Course plays tougher than the front, Hanna was surprised that her team fared so poorly. Curiously, one of the holes the team struggled the most on was number 12, a straight ahead par-4 hole whose only challenge is a fairway bunker running up the left side. Three Paladins made double-bogeys on the relatively tame hole.
"I don't even think anybody hit it in that bunker," said Hanna.
Before the second round Hanna challenged her team to improve its attitude, citing bad body language spreading negative thoughts among the team.
"This does not have to be pretty, you just have to get the job done," said Hanna. "Everybody has bad holes, everybody makes bogeys."
Following a rousing team speech Saturday morning, the Lady Paladins took to the links for the second round with a different outlook.
The new perspective showed in the scores.
The Lady Paladins posted the lowest team score of the second round, moving into third place. Kenoyer had another great round, putting her in a tie for second in the individual competition.
Knowing that Sunday's final round would probably include rain, tournament directors decided upon a 9 a.m. shotgun start, with groups beginning on each hole instead of beginning solely at the first tee.
No tee times would avoid this rainstorm, however, and the recently renovated Furman University Golf Course finally became too saturated to play, with standing water on the greens and puddles throughout the fairways.
Most groups had played only 12 holes, and since all groups had played different holes, tournament directors decided to ignore any of Sunday's play and award the victory to the second round leaders. This hurt the Lady Paladins, who were looking to make another move in the final round.
"It was disappointing. Everyone was standing pretty well," said freshman Julia Thead.
Hanna was disappointed, too. But like any coach, she has found something for her team to work on.
"We're taking from this tournament how important attitude is."
The 38th Lady Paladin Invitational, hosted by the Furman University Golf Course, brought umbrellas and rain suits out of the golf bags as heavy rain all three days led to the cancellation of final round play on Sunday, taking players off the unplayable course and giving the victory to second round leader, Nova Southeastern.
Led by junior Stefanie Kenoyer, the Paladins faltered during the first round, shooting 25-over-par as a team on the back nine holes and finishing the round in a tie for eighth place.
"We didn't come out of the box well," said Furman Head Coach Jen Hanna.
While the back nine at Furman University Golf Course plays tougher than the front, Hanna was surprised that her team fared so poorly. Curiously, one of the holes the team struggled the most on was number 12, a straight ahead par-4 hole whose only challenge is a fairway bunker running up the left side. Three Paladins made double-bogeys on the relatively tame hole.
"I don't even think anybody hit it in that bunker," said Hanna.
Before the second round Hanna challenged her team to improve its attitude, citing bad body language spreading negative thoughts among the team.
"This does not have to be pretty, you just have to get the job done," said Hanna. "Everybody has bad holes, everybody makes bogeys."
Following a rousing team speech Saturday morning, the Lady Paladins took to the links for the second round with a different outlook.
The new perspective showed in the scores.
The Lady Paladins posted the lowest team score of the second round, moving into third place. Kenoyer had another great round, putting her in a tie for second in the individual competition.
Knowing that Sunday's final round would probably include rain, tournament directors decided upon a 9 a.m. shotgun start, with groups beginning on each hole instead of beginning solely at the first tee.
No tee times would avoid this rainstorm, however, and the recently renovated Furman University Golf Course finally became too saturated to play, with standing water on the greens and puddles throughout the fairways.
Most groups had played only 12 holes, and since all groups had played different holes, tournament directors decided to ignore any of Sunday's play and award the victory to the second round leaders. This hurt the Lady Paladins, who were looking to make another move in the final round.
"It was disappointing. Everyone was standing pretty well," said freshman Julia Thead.
Hanna was disappointed, too. But like any coach, she has found something for her team to work on.
"We're taking from this tournament how important attitude is."