Women's Golf in Daytona Recap

Adam Hunt
Sports Reporter

The Mercer women’s golf team struggled to find top form at the LPGA Collegiate Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla.

However, conditions were tough as the Bears had to deal with searing heat and the notoriously tricky Legends Course.

The event, hosted by Xavier, attracted some of the top teams in the nation as well as a handful of Mercer’s Atlantic Sun Conference rivals.
The Bears fought valiantly and finished on 320 over the three rounds, good for 15th place overall.

Scores were tight in the opening 18. Freshman Kaitlin Marrin fired a 79, whilst Leslie Choucard, Kimberly Graff and Monica Kelsey all shot 81.
The second round saw Choucard and Kelsey come to the fore, posting a pair of 80s. Marrin was 3 shots back at 83 and Graff scored an 85.

In the final round, the Bears posted their best collective score of the tournament. Individually, senior Kelsey led the way with a 77. Her total of 238 was a team best, clinching a 52nd place tie.

Freshman Graff followed with a 78, her lowest round of the weekend. Graff posted an overall 244 and tied for 62nd.

Daytona St. College, Campbell and Stetson took the top three spots in the concluding standings.
“The LPGA course was awesome this weekend, but it did give us some problems,” reflected Mercer’s head coach Gary Guyer. “I am not sure exactly why, but we will be working hard to fix them in practice.”

The Bears are back in action the week before Halloween at the Boscobel Intercollegiate in Spartanburg, S.C. on Oct. 24-25.