MCCORMICK, S.C. – Paced by freshman Riley Mayhew's 3-over-par 75, the Anderson women's golf team is in fifth place following opening-round action Sunday at the Savannah Lakes Fall Invitational.
Lander is hosting the two-day, 36-hole tournament at the 5,820 yard, par-72 Monticello Golf Club.
Limestone leads the 11-team field by three shots over Flagler, with UNC Pembroke five strokes further back in third place. Limestone (B) holds the fourth spot, with the Trojans alone in fifth place – one stroke in front of Lincoln Memorial. The host Bearcats are seventh, while Emanuel and Southern Wesleyan are eighth and ninth, respectively. Newberry is 10th, with St. Andrews in 11th place.
"I am very pleased with the way Riley Mayhew played today," said Anderson assistant coach Denton Moore. "She had a goal of zero three-putts today, and accomplished it. She shot 75, with 25 putts, on a day where she didn't strike it very well. She really dug down deep, and grinded around the greens.
All the girls grinded today, and I was pleased with the effort. It was much better than last week in Florida. We just have to clean up the small things now. We got most of the major stuff cleaned up. There were very few big numbers today. We just have to turn some of those bogeys into pars."
Flagler's Bella Petrone and Limestone's Ebba Hellman are deadlocked at the top of the individual leaderboard after each player fired an even-par 72 during the opening round. UNC Pembroke teammates Lauren Martin and Toni Blackwell share third place following opening rounds of 1-over 73s. Four additional golfers share fifth, just two strokes off the pace set by the leaders.
Mayhew carded a pair of birdies on the back nine en route to her best round of the fall and is tied for ninth heading into Monday's final round. Junior Victoria Hall also notched her best round of the season with a 5-over-par 77 and sits six-way tie for 16th after also posting a pair of birdies.
Newcomer Jessica Rathbone shares 22nd place after notching a 6-over 78, while senior Anna Freeman (81) and junior Kerington Lamb (82) are tied for 32nd and 35th, respectively. Sophomore Emma Charles also posted an 82 and is among the four golfers tied for 35th.
"We have to have a little more focus on each shot, and make sure we have exactly what we want to do diagnosed and committed to making that happen," added Moore. "I'm fine with bad shots - that happens. We just can't have no focus and bad effort. If we do that tomorrow, we are going to have a much better round, and I have a good feeling that this team will rise to the occasion and get that done. Great group of girls, and they are going to do well tomorrow, and get some positive momentum built going into the spring. We are going to play Trojan Golf tomorrow. "
The second and final round is set to get underway on Monday at 9:30 a.m.
5 Anderson 311
T9 Riley Mayhew 75
T16 Victoria Hall 77
T22 Jessica Rathbone 78
T32 Anna Freeman 81
T35 Kerington Lamb 82
1 Team Scores
1 Limestone 296 +8
2 Flagler 299 +11
3 UNC Pembroke 304 +16
4 Limestone (B) 305 +17
5 Anderson 311 +23
6 Lincoln Memorial 312 +24
7 Lander University 319 +31
8 Emmanuel 324 +36
9 Southern Wesleyan 333 +45
10 Newberry 354 +66
11 St. Andrews 369 +81
