ATHENS, Ga. -- Chattanooga freshman golfer Emma de Groot fired a 2-over Saturday at the par 72, 6,335 UGA Golf Course on the final day of the NCAA Women’s Golf East Regional securing a top 20 finish.
de Groot, ranked 66th in the country by Golfstat, had an even score on the back nine after starting on the 10th tee this morning. She birdied the par-3 13th to move to 1-under, but evened her score with a bogey on the par-4 15th. She remained even through six more holes and bogeyed the fourth and ninth holes to close out the round with a 2-over 74.
The Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, native finished tied for 17th out of 108 golfers with a three-round score of 7-over, 223.
South Carolina’s No. 32 Benedicte Toumpsin shot a 4-over Saturday, but managed to hang on to claim medalist honors with a three-round score of 214 (-2). Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst, the No. 1 ranked player in the country, was tied for second with Louisville’s Sara-Maude Juneau at 1-under. Georgia’s Krystle Caithness (No. 47), No. 12 Cydney Clanton of Auburn and New Mexico’s Alexandra Phelps finished at 1-over tied for fourth.
Florida posted an upset of the overall top-ranked Blue Devils to win the Regional by one stroke with a 19-over 883. Duke was second with an 884 team score and host Georgia rallied to finish third with a team score of 889.
The top eight teams advance to the finals along with the top two individuals not on those teams. Auburn placed fourth followed by Virginia, South Carolina, Wake Forest and the Southern Conference’s Furman University.
Furman’s Corrine Carr was the top finisher for the Lady Paladins tied for 10th with a three day score of 220 (+4). The top two individual finishers were Juneau and Phelps whose New Mexico team will host the national championships in Albuquerque.
De Groot finished seventh in the individuals whose team was not one of the top eight. She caps off a year with nine top 10 finishes that included a pair of wins and three runner-up honors.
Top 10 Teams
1. (5) Florida +19 290-295-298 883
2. (1) Duke +20 285-303-296 884
3. (8) Georgia +25 299-300-290 889
4. (10) Auburn +30 296-302-296 894
5. (20) Virginia +34 296-310-292 898
6. (32) South Carolina +35 291-303-305 899
(15) Wake Forest +35 298-305-296 899
8. (35) Furman +36 292-307-301 900
9. (31) New Mexico +37 304-301-296 901
10. (22) Lousiville +48 293-315-304 912
Top 20 Individuals
1. (32) Benedicte Toumpson, South Carolina 68-70-76 214
2. (1) Amanda Blumenherst, Duke 68-73-74 215
Sara-Maude Juneau, Louisville 67-74-74 215
4. (47) Krystle Caithness, Georgia 70-73-74 217
(12) Cydney Clanton, Auburn 70-75-72 217
Alexandra Phelps, New Mexico 71-73-73 217
7. (41) Tiffany Chudy, Florida 72-75-71 218
Joy Kim, Virginia 73-77-68 218
9. Carmen Perez, UNC Wilmington 71-72-76 219
10. Corrine Carr, Furman 71-72-76 220
(42) Garrett Phillips, Georgia 77-74-69 220
(96) Julia Potter, Missouri 73-75-72 220
Jessica Yadloczky, Florida 73-72-75 220
14. (60) Candace Schepperle, Auburn 74-76-71 221
15. Ornella Jouven, Florida 72-73-77 222
(58) Marci Turner, Tennessee 73-75-74 222
17. (66) Emma de Groot, Chattanooga 73-76-74 223
(99) Anna Scott, Georgia State 75-75-73 223
(25) Hannah Yun, Florida 73-75-75 223
20. (27) Dori Carter, Mississippi 77-75-72 224
(59) Cindy LaCrosse, Louisville 72-79-73 224
(61) Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke 72-83-69 224
(35) Natalie Sheary, Wake Forest 72-80-72 224
