Junior Ailsa Clark fired a 36-hole 137 (-5), which included a record-tying opening-round 67 (-4), and sits in first place individually, while the FGCU women's golf team shot a 572 (+4) on the first day of the Spring Break Shootout at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club on Monday.
"We are in a great position to make a run at a title," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "We did a great job of taking advantage of the birdie opportunities that we had in the first round. In the second, we definitely left a lot of shots out there and didn't finish as well as we could have. I know we can play this course really well, and I am excited for us to tee it up again."
Clark's first-round total ties Briana Carlson's third-round 67 at the Cincinnati Spring Invitational in 2011 for the program-low. Furthermore, her 36-hole 137 is the lowest two-round total in program history, surpassing the 138 set by teammate freshman Laura Edmonds just this past fall. Clark needs to shoot a 73 or better in Tuesday's final round to break Carlson's 54-hole record of 211.
"I can't say enough about Ailsa's play," Trew said on Clark. "She is one of the biggest reasons why we are in this position. She has been working very hard, and I am happy to see it pay off."
As a team, the Green and Blue's opening round 281 (-3) establishes a new program-record, topping the third-round 283 in the Pat Bradley Invitational this past fall. The Eagles also came within two strokes of matching their 36-hole team record of 570 set this past fall in the Johnie Imes Invitational.
FGCU is in second-place as a team, just one stroke behind Troy. Western Kentucky shot a 573 (+5) as the difference between first and third is just two strokes. The next closest team is Samford, who shot a 580 (+12).
Edmonds is tied for 15th after a 36-hole 144 (+2), while sophomore Natalia Nassar and senior Kelsy Holbert are also both in the top-25 at 21st and 25th, respectively.
The event, which is being co-hosted by FGCU and Western Kentucky, will conclude with 18 more holes on Tuesday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Tee times can be found here.
Individual Standings
1. Ailsa Clark - 67-70---137 (-5)
T-15. Laura Edmonds - 73-71---141 (+2)
T-21. Natalia Nassar - 70-76---146 (+4)
T-25. Kelsy Holbert - 71-76---147 (+5)
T-39. Madeline Marck-Sherk - 76-74---150 (+8)
Team Standings (#GolfStat ranking as of March 5)
1. #120 Troy - 291-280---571 (+3)
2. #107 FGCU - 281-291---572 (+4)
3. #119 WKU - 280-293---573 (+5)
4. #159 Samford - 287-293---580 (+12)
5. #138 Jacksonville - 301-283---584 (+16)
T-6. #213 Austin Peay - 295-290---585 (+17)
T-6. #169 Arkansas State - 290-295---585 (+17)
T-6. #203 Ball State - 290-295---585 (+17)
9. #186 ULM - 298-288---586 (+18)
10. #188 Oakland - 290-302---592 (+24)
T-11. #194 Little Rock - 299-303---602 (+34)
T-11. #173 Southern Illinois - 306-296---602 (+34)
13. #208 Ohio - 296-309---605 (+37)
14. #200 Illinois State - 304-302---606 (+38)
15. #215 Belmont - 317-303---620 (+52)
Quotes From Other Coaches:
Troy: "I felt that we had an opportunity to play that well during the first round with the way we started," head coach Randy Keck said. "We were striking the ball well but then we really struggled during the middle of the round – they looked nervous. We got rid of the nerves in the second round, settled in and really got comfortable. We were suddenly on offense playing for birdies instead of being defensive."
ULM: "It was a nice afternoon for the ladies, shooting our best team round of the year," ULM Director of Golf Tim Baldwin said. "Kudos to Olivia Landberg for shooting her personal-best 67 (4-under par) with no bogies in competition. We are in good position to move into the Top 5 with a solid round tomorrow."
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