Tar Heels Tied For Third At Ocean Course Invitational

Monday, September 4

Kiawah Island, S.C. (Ocean Course)

All Day

North Carolina

Ocean Course Invitational Day 1

September 4, 2017 | Women's Golf

Round 1 & 2 Results Live Results Final Round Tee Times

By: Matt Hodgin

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - The Carolina women's golf team finished day one of the Ocean Course Invitational tied for third place at 3-over-par following team rounds of 295 (3-over) and 292 (even-par).

"They all really fought hard today," Head Coach Jan Mann said. "There were times throughout the day when they would have a bad hole or a bad shot, but we've been working hard on their body language and how they handle the shots. I thought they did a tremendous job at just bouncing back."

Carolina was led by freshman Ava Bergner (Ketsch, Germany), who in her collegiate debut came back from a triple-bogey for an even-par round. She then followed it up with a 3-under-par round. Her second round was Carolina's best of the day, and it was the result of consistent play as she knocked in seven birdies. Bergner heads into the final round tied for fourth at 3 under.

"Her attitude throughout the entire day was no matter what the hole, no matter what she shot, she had a smile on her face and she looked like she was enjoying it," Mann said. "If you can do that, then you're going to play some good golf."

Brynn Walker, a sophomore from St. David's,Pa., started out the day strong, shooting 2-under-par 71 in her first round thanks to a late eagle on the fifth hole. She remained consistent throughout the afternoon making par on 12 holes in the second round to finish even on the day. Walker is tied for ninth heading into Tuesday's final round.

"There was a stretch there in the second round where she was getting a little off track, but she managed to pull it back together and she finished strong," Mann said.

Kelly Whaley, a junior from Farmington, Conn., shot 74-73 to finish the day tied at 15th. Senior Bryana Nguyen (Columbia, Md.) started out a bit rusty shooting a 4-over-par 77, but was able to knock in six birdies in the second round to finish the day at five-over par and tied for 29th. Clementina Rodriguez, a junior from Caracas, Venezuela, shot 78-83 to finish the day tied at 67.

Sophomore Mariana Ocano (St. Petersburg, Fla.), who was competing as an individual, shot 79-73 to finish tied for 38th.

Coach Mann believes that if they play with the same composure Tuesday that they played with Monday, then she thinks this team is poised to begin the 2017-18 campaign on a high note.

"We want them to go out, enjoy, have fun, love the challenge, fight throughout, and focus and refocus when they need to," Mann said. "If they can do that, there's lots of birdies out there. They proved it today."

Carolina will tee off at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the shotgun format for the final round. They will play alongside Ole Miss and Florida State. Live Scoring is available at GolfStat.com, you can follow along on twitter at @uncwomensgolf and a full recap will be available following play.

TAR HEEL SCORES

T4 - Ava Bergner 73-70-143 (-3)

T9 - Brynn Walker 71-75-146 (Par)

T15 - Kelly Whaley 74-73-147 (+1)

T29 - Bryana Nguyen 77-74-151 (+5)

T67 - Clementina Rodriguez 78-83-161

(competing as an individual)

T38 Mariano Ocano 79-73-152

TEAM LEADERBOARD

1. Ole Miss

2. Florida State

T3. North Carolina