Alabama
Fall Preview
Women's Golf Finishes Second at Mason Rudolph Fall Preview
9/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 25, 2011
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Jennifer Kirby finished tied atop the leader board at the 2011 Mason Rudolph Fall Preview and the third-ranked Alabama women's golf team posted a second-place finish as a team with a 15-over-par total of 879.
Kirby, who fired a 6-under 66 in Saturday's second round, shot 2-over 74 in Sunday's final round to finish at 4-under-par 212. That sent her into a playoff with Duke's Lindy Duncan, who birdied the first playoff hole to capture medalist honors.
"Jennifer played really well," Alabama head coach Mic Potter said. "She just left her putt on the final hole on the lip and lost in a playoff. Her ball-striking has been solid, and her hard work on the putting green really showed this weekend."
Kirby, a junior from Paris, Ontario, Canada, ran into trouble in the third round with a triple bogey on the par-4 sixth hole and got to 5-over-par through eight holes. She turned it around with a birdie on the ninth and shot 2-under on the back nine, but left her birdie putt for the win on the 18th on the lip.
The Crimson Tide finished six-shots back of UCLA who claimed the team title at 9-over-par 873. Both Alabama and UCLA shot 6-over 294 in the final round. Arizona State and Virginia tied for third place at 20-over 884 with North Carolina and Texas A&M tied for fifth at 886.
"We did exactly what we wanted and that was to show significant improvement," Alabama head coach Mic Potter said following the final round. "We struck the ball well and putted much better. We also showed some resiliency when we made mistakes."
Senior Brooke Pancake carded her second straight under-par round with a 2-under 70 on Sunday to finish tied for fifth at 1-under-par 215. She opened with 74 and followed that up with a 71 on Saturday.
Hannah Collier and Stephanie Meadow counted as the Tide's third and fourth scores on Sunday, both firing round of 3-over-par 75. Collier finished tied for 33rd at 9-over-par 225 while Meadow was three shots back in a tie for 49th at 228. Courtney McKim shot 76 in the final round and closed with a 232 in a tie for 66th.
The Tide returns to action on at the Tar Heel Invitational on Oct. 7-9 at the Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Alabama is the defending champion after shooting a school-record 28-under-par 836 a season ago.
Players Mentioned
