March 11, 2008
Pinehurst Challenge - Final Results
Pinehurst, N.C. - Carding its lowest round of the three-day event on Tuesday, the Western Carolina women's golf team finished 12th at the Pinehurst Challenge, hosted by the College of Charleston at Pinehurst No. 8. WCU shot 307 in the final round to finish at 943, just three strokes out of 10th place.
Sophomore Desiree Karlsson finished with a three-round score of 230 (83-73-74) to pace the Catamounts with a 16th-place finish. She was tied for fifth with 34 pars during the 54-hole event. Freshman Josefine Sundh placed 32nd five strokes back at 235 (84-76-75), while classmate Katja Dammann was tied for 43rd after trimming three more strokes off her second round score to shoot 75 on the final 18 holes to finish at 237.
Rounding out the scoring for Western was sophomore Elin Mickelsson, who led the Catamounts after the first round, in a tie for 61st (76-82-83) with senior Kandy Carland withdrawing after the opening round.
East Carolina shot 295 as a team on Tuesday to rally past East Tennessee State, which led after each of the first two rounds. The Pirates fired a tournament 54-hole record 910 to sink the Buccaneers (920) by 10 strokes. Augusta State finished third (924) followed by a three-way tie for fourth between Georgia State, Oregon State and UNC Greensboro, all three strokes in arrears at 927.
Steffi Kirchmayr of the College of Charleston claimed individual medalist honors, tying with Maryland's Kelly Caulkin for a tournament record-low round of 69 on Tuesday to win by four strokes over East Carolina's Emelie Lind (217-to-221). Kirchmayr's 217 is an individual 54-hole tournament record. Chattanooga's Emma de Groot was third (223), with ETSU's Laura Jansone and Oregon State's Martha Burkard tying for fifth at 225.
Western Carolina returns to action at the end of the month at the John Kirk / Lady Panther Intercollegiate, hosted by Georgia State at the Eagles Landing Country Club in Atlanta, Ga. The Catamounts finished tied for 11th at the event a year ago, carding a two-round total of 617.
12 Western Carolina U. 327 309 307 943
T 16 Desiree Karlsson 83 73 74 230
T 32 Josefine Sundh 84 76 75 235
T 43 Katja Dammann 84 78 75 237
T 61 Elin Mickelsson 76 82 83 241
WD Kandy Carland 86 WD WD