Women’s golf team starts spring season strong

By Adam Hunt | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Flagler women’s golf teed off its spring season with a seventh place finish at the Lady Moc Classic.

The Saints finished the 54-hole event in Lakeland, Fla. with a combined score of 937, two shots behind Barry.

“The team played well,” said head coach Santiago Cavanagh. “I was pleased with the positive attitude we showed from start to finish.”

Seminole State lit up the rest of the field, leading from the first day to claim the trophy with a final score of 913.

Conditions were far from easy on the opening day at the par 72 of The Club at Eaglebrooke. The players had to contend with humid conditions for a grueling 36 holes and long delays meant they spent almost 11 hours on the course.

It was certainly a marathon, not a sprint.

“It is very difficult to play consistently for such a long period,” Cavanagh said. “We are only allowed to practice for four hours a day by the NCAA so it was tough to prepare.”

Flagler’s captain, Leslie Choucard, made the best of the unforgiving conditions with the team’s lowest opening day score of 74.

Overall, freshman Nicole Keyser finished in 17th place individually for the Saints with a 15-over total of 231.

But it was Marie Santacroce, another freshman, who stole the headlines on the final day. The 19-year-old fired a three under 69 to set a new program scoring record. She comfortably beat the old record of 72 by three shots.

Santacroce’s efforts over the last 18 holes helped her climb the leaderboard to 18th place with a total of 232.

“I didn’t focus too much on my score,” Santacroce said. “The key for me was to work on one shot at a time and work harder on controlling my approach shots to the green.”

Seniors Elin Karlsson, Choucard and Lauren Benetti rounded out the Saints with final scores of 236, 243 and 250 respectively.

Elia Folch Sola of Seminole State won the individual spoils with a 3-over par 219. Florida Southern’s M.J. Audette carded a 68, the lowest round of the tournament, on the final day but could only finish three shots behind Folch Sola.

Flagler will hit the links once again for their second tournament of the spring semester at the Armstrong Lady Pirate Invitational. The two-day event takes place March 5-6 at Savannah Quarters Country Club in Pooler, Ga.