Carolina, Whaley Tied For Ninth

Friday, March 3

Hilton Head, S.C.

All Day

North Carolina

Darius Rucker Intercollegiate

March 4, 2017 | Women's Golf

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Hilton Head Island, S.C. – The Carolina women's golf team rode a strong back nine to finish day one at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate tied for ninth. The team shot a 12-over par 296.

Carolina was led by an even-par round from Kelly Whaley, who had three birdies on the day and is tied for ninth individually. Brynn Walker had the most consistent round of the day, leading the tournament with 16 pars on the way to a 2-over par 73. Bryana Nguyen used birdies on the par-3 13^th and 17^th holes to lead the first round in par-3 scoring and shoot a 4-over par 75. Leslie Cloots and Lexi Harkins both shot 6-over par 77s and Mariana Ocano, playing as an individual, shot 81.

“The team started off a little shaky with ten over par on the front nine,” said coach Jan Mann. “But I was really proud of how they hung in there. They were two over par on the back nine. Looking forward to a better start tomorrow and making up a little ground on the field.”

The tournament is led by Alabama, 14 shots ahead of the Tar Heels. Individually, Kristen Gillman of Alabama, Cheyenne Knight of Alabama, Sophia Zeeb of Arizona State, and Gurbani Zeeb of Duke are tied for the lead at 3-under par.

With the strong field, the Tar Heels have an opportunity to continue building a NCAA resume. After the first round, the Carolina is ahead of two teams in Golfstat's top 20 and tied with two more. Overall, the tournament features 13 teams ranked in Golfstat's top 40.

Tomorrow, the team will tee off No. 1 with Tennessee and Vanderbilt beginning at 8:30 a.m. You can follow the live results at Golfstat.com and a recap will be posted on GoHeels.com after the round.