University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational Day 3
Bergner And The Tar Heels Cap Historic Tournament
October 15, 2017 | Women's Golf
CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina wrapped up the 42nd Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational Sunday in 5th place at 8-under-par 856. It was the highest finish for the Tar Heels in their home tournament since winning in 2012, and the 54-hole tournament score was their best Tar Heel Invitational score ever.
Carolina was once again led by freshman Ava Bergner (Ketsch, Germany), however this time she did so in record-breaking fashion.
Bergner had the best Tar Heel Invitational score ever for a Tar Heel after finishing at 10-under-par 206. She finished tied for third, which is the highest finish for a Tar Heel at the Invitational since Catherine O'Donnell won the event in 2008. She tied Carolina records for best round (66) and best round vs. par (-6) in the third round on Sunday, and her third round score tied for the third-lowest round ever at the Tar Heel Invitational. The score was also the second highest 54-hole score and score vs. par in Carolina history.
"She may be a little disappointed today because she told me she wanted to shoot a 64," head coach Jan Mann said. "But to see Ava excel is just so great because it's hard for, number one, a freshman to come in, but, number two, a European to come in and make all of the adjustments that they have to make. She hasn't missed a beat, and it's been great."
It wasn't until late in the day that Bergner's performance really began to shine through. After starting on No. 3, Bergner was at even-par through 10 holes, but it was then that she went on a tear. Over the next eight holes, Bergner went eagle-par-birdie-birdie-birdie-par-par-birdie. She went from tied for 10th at the beginning of the round to just two shots out of an individual title when it was all said and done.
…and she's only a freshman.
Kelly Whaley had a solid afternoon, nearly finishing with a clean scorecard except for a bogey on No. 11. She was 1-under on the day to wrap up the tournament at 1-over par and tied for 32nd.
Brynn Walker was up-and-down throughout the weekend - she nailed an eagle in the first round on 13 (the same hole as Bergner), nearly had a clean card in the second but had nine bogeys across the three days. She finished at 2-under for the tournament and tied for 23rd.
Mariana Ocano shot 2-over on the day after a 1-under-par round Saturday, but her 9-over first round was ultimately too much to overcome as she finished tied for 67th. Her highlight came on par-3 No. 13 Sunday when she chipped in a birdie from the rough with one bounce on the green.
Bryana Nguyen shot 4-over par Sunday to finish at 7-over on the weekend and tied for 55th.
"It was an absolutely great event," Mann said. "Mike and Deane O'Donnell and Ruth's Chris make this a very special tournament not only through their sliders that they provide throughout the tournament, but also their tournament gifts to the players and just their support. They do a fantastic job. Rob Stewart and our tournament staff just make it so easy for Aimee [Neff] and I to be able to coach and not have to worry about the logistics. Thank you to our golf shop staff, just working with us, Matt Hodgin working with us with Golfstat, keeping that to date and going, and then our maintenance staff, Mark Steffer and his crew. They are fantastic. Thank you to of course our rules officials, our volunteers and Scott Oliaro. They've all been fantastic. It's a big family, and everyone working together makes it a success."
Up Next: The Tar Heels head to Los Cabos, Mexico, November 3-5 for the 2017 Battle At The Beach.
TOURNAMENT NOTES & RECORDS
- Duke won the 2017 Tar Heel Invitational by one-stroke at 31-under-par 833 to set a new invitational 54-hole team record. The score was three strokes better than Alabama's 836 in 2010.
- Alabama made a furious comeback on Sunday after trailing by 10 strokes heading into the round. The Crimson Tide shot 18-under-par 270 in round three to set the tournament record for best team round, which had been set by Duke in round two on Saturday with a 271.
- Leona Maguire of Duke won the tournament's individual title by one stroke after setting an invitational record for individual 54-hole tournament score with her 12-under-par 204. The score was one shot better than the 205 by Brooke Pancake of Alabama and Megan McChrystal of LSU in 2010.
- Paz Marfa of Michigan State set a new Tar Heel Invitational and UNC Finley Golf Course record for woman's individual round with her 8-under 64 in the second round.
TAR HEEL SCORES
T3 - Ava Bergner 70-70-66—206 (-10)
T23 - Brynn Walker 71-70-73—214 (-2)
T32 - Kelly Whaley 74-72-71—217 (+1)
T55 - Bryana Nguyen 74-73-76—223 (+7)
T67 - Mariana Ocano 81-71-74—226 (+10)
Team Totals 289-283-284—856, -8 (5 of 18 teams)
(competing as an individual)
T77 Roshnee Sharma 73-74-82—229 (+13)
T86 Cheni Xu 80-77-79—236 (+20)
96 Clementina Rodriguez 81-87-W-168 (+24)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Duke 283-271-279—833 (-31)
2. Alabama 285-279-270—834 (-30)
3. South Carolina 284-281-281—846 (-18)
4. Arkansas 288-279-284—851 (-13)
5. North Carolina 289-283-284—856 (-8)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
1. Leona Maguire (Duke) 69-66-69–204 (-12)
2. Ainhoa Olarra (South Carolina) 70-67-68—205 (-11)
T3. Ava Bergner (North Carolina) 70-70-66—206 (-10)
T3. Laura Stephenson (Alabama) 72-68-66—206 (-10)
T3. Emilia Migliaccio (Wake Forest) 69-70-67—206 (-10)
Players Mentioned
