Kent State University
Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate
No. 16 Women's Golf Finishes Second in Knoxville Behind Record Performances
9/13/2016 4:40:00 PM | Women's Golf
TEAM RESULTSÂ |Â INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 16 Kent State University women's golf team finished in second place at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, hosted at the Cherokee Country Club. The tournament was highlighted by a record-breaking collegiate debut from Pimnipa Panthong, who won the tournament with an eight-under par 205.
Overall, Kent State finished at three-over par as a team at 855 (286-283-286). The Golden Flashes tied Illinois and finished five strokes behind tournament titlists No. 7 Florida.
"We are pleased with the way the team played, especially being a very young team after losing three seniors," said head coach Greg Robertson. "It was a good start to the year, something to build on. It was nice to see that we had seven individual rounds of par or better!"
Panthong's score of 205 (67-68-70) was two strokes lower than the 54-hole school and tournament record set by Taylor Kim at the same tournament last year. She won the Tennessee-hosted tournament in her collegiate debut, besting the field by three strokes. She held a six stroke lead over all but two of the golfers in the tournament.
Panthong was not the only Golden Flash to have an all-time great tournament for Kent State, as Michaela Finn finished the tournament with the best round of any golfer in the tournament. Finn shot a 66 in Tuesday's round, tying the tournament record and one stroke away from the program record. She finished in third overall at four-under par 209 and is the eighth golfer ever to shoot that low over 54 holes.
"Pim is a very solid player and knows how to win," said Robertson. "She is not afraid to go low and that obviously helped our team a lot. Micheala had a strong show the last 36 holes, shooting 70 and 66."
Kent State had three players finish in the top-20, with Wad Phaewchimplee placing in a tie for 19th. Her third round score of 73 put her overall score at four-over par 217. Competing as an individual, Marissa Kirkwood had a strong showing and finished in a tie for 38th place. She logged an overall score of nine-over par 222 (75-75-72).
Kent State fielded three freshmen this week, with Karoline Stormo holding her own. She finished in a tie for 58th at 227 for the tournament, wrapping her week up Tuesday by carding an 80. Capping off the Golden Flashes was sophomore Kelly Nielsen, who placed 74th with a score of 235. She had her best round of the week Tuesday with a six-over par 77.
Kent State will look to build on this performance at the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma beginning Sept. 24.
Players Mentioned
