Stars in lead in rain-delayed first round of NAIA Championship
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. — (Day Two Pairings)Weather became a factor Tuesday in the first round of the 2017 NAIA Women’s Golf National Championships at PGA National.
Rain forced a nearly an hour and a half-long delay in the evening and ultimately caused a postponement of play with more storms and darkness rolling in. Along with the storms approaching, golfers also faced winds that picked up throughout the afternoon.
The postponement did not allow all of the teams teeing off in the afternoon wave to finish their rounds. The teams that did not complete the first round will continue play at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday morning and the second round will be started at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Along with the storms rolling in, golfers also faced winds that picked up throughout the afternoon.
First-round leader Oklahoma City, who completed their round this morning, posted a 306 (+18). The Stars were led by Anna Mikish, who carded three birdies to record a 74 (+2).
The two of the three closest teams to Oklahoma City after day one – Northwestern Ohio, William Penn (Iowa) and Dalton State (Ga.) – were unable to complete their rounds. The Roadrunners posted a 315 (+27) to finish tied for third with William Penn who was unable to finish.
Courtney Dye of Indiana Tech and Aleesha Smith of William Carey (Miss.) finished the day tied for first recording a 72 (E).
The third-ranked Stars completed the first round with a 306 after teeing off in the morning. Rain halted play for an hour and a half before darkness settled in.
Those teams that failed to finish will tee off 6:15 a.m. CDT Tuesday. The regularly scheduled second round will start 6:30 a.m. CDT, while OCU will start at the 12th hole at 1 p.m. CDT.
Anna Mikish paced Oklahoma City with a 37-37–74 to land two strokes off the pace. Mikish, a senior from Choctaw, Okla., buried birdies on the par-5, 487-yard first hole, par-4, 333-yard 12th hole and the par-5, 448-yard No. 14. Indiana Tech’s Courtney Dye and Aleesha Smith from William Carey (Miss.) shared the individual lead with 72s.
Savannah Moody provided the Stars with a 38-38–76 to tie for 12th place. Moody, a junior from Weatherford, Texas, pounded in a birdie on the par-3, 133-yard third hole.
Caroline Goodin turned in a 36-42–78. Goodin, a senior from Oklahoma City, nailed three birdies – at No. 1, the par-4, 362-yard seventh and the par-5, 448-yard 14th. Melissa Eldredge, a freshman from Eufuala, Okla., carded a 40-38–78 while making birdies on the first and seventh holes.
OCU’s Kailey Campbell, a senior from Oktaha, Okla., had a 42-40–82. She made par on eight holes.
The temperature at the par-72, 6,013-yard course reached 89 degrees, while the wind hit 21 mph with 32 mph gusts.