University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
Georgia Golfers Tied For Third At Liz Murphey
April 01, 2011 | Women's Golf
April 1, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 13-ranked Georgia women's golf team carded a 3-over 291 in the opening round of the 39th annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic on Friday, leaving the Bulldogs tied with No. 4 Duke for third on the team leaderboard at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
The Classic is using a "best ball" team format, with the low four individual scores from each hole comprising the team's counting tally as the day progresses. Traditionally, the low four rounds at the end of the day are added together to determine the team score.
"I thought the format was fun; our kids really responded well," head coach Kelley Hester said. "We played the first four holes even par, which is more than I could ask. We traditionally struggle on those. I was just really proud of them. They 'ham and egged' so to speak it pretty well. They had fun with each other. It was a long day. It took a long time to play because we have a lot of people on the golf course. I was really proud of my kids. I thought they played the best golf I've seen them play all year."
Emilie Burger's 1-over 73 paced Georgia on Friday, while Marta Silva Zamora shot 74, Kiara Hayashida shot 76, Abby Johnson shot 78 and Milena Savich shot 83. The Bulldogs' Tess Fordham, who is competiting as an individual, posted an 80.
Burger and Silva Zamora notched contributing scores on 18 and 17 holes, respectively.
No. 5 Purdue grabbed the first-round lead with a 4-under 284. No. 2 Alabama is second at 286. Rounding out the top 10 following the Bulldogs and Blue Devils, Florida State is fifth at 293, No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 16 Wake Forest and No. 18 Auburn all are tied for sixth at 294 and No. 25 Oklahoma and Kennesaw State both at 295.
"It's an interesting format," Purdue coach Devon Brouse said. "Playing in this format, I think you learn a lot about your team as a coach - out there watching all five of them at one time and seeing what their tendencies are and some of the things I think are magnified a little bit. I'm glad that we're getting a chance to play this format because it's an opportunity to improve. I just found if interesting as a coach to get out there and watch all five of them play at one time and kind of see the group dynamics magnified.
"As a coach, you're always trying to promote good dynamics and team chemistry, but there it is all at one time in front of you, concentrated," Brouse continued. "I think from that stand point, it's a good opportunity for us. We left a few shots out there, but I'm sure every team can say that. That's kind of the nature of this format I think, it puts you in some interesting predicaments. As a player, if you've got it six feet from par and one of your teammates has already made bogey, you know right there that's not just a six-footer, it's a stroke for your team that you're trying to save."
Individually, Duke's Aleja Cangrejo and Florida State's Hannah Thomson are tied atop the leaderboard at 2-under 70. For Georgia, Burger is tied for eighth, Silva Zamora is tied for 12th, Hayashida is tied for 30th, Johnson is tied for 59th, Fordham is tied for 86th and Savich is tied for 107th.
"The format was really different from everything that we've played before," Cangrejo said. "I'm a freshman, so I've only played in six or seven tournaments this year. This is obviously very different but I really like it. It's good to be with your team all the time and be able to support each other, but still we were trying to go out and play our own golf. It was really nice; it was kind of windy at some point, kind of chilly but it was a really beautiful day. The course is in really good shape; it wasn't wet."
"It was fun playing with the team," Thomson said. "We all encouraged each other. It was kind of hard out there today the wind was pretty bad and the course played pretty long in some places. In all, I enjoyed the format."
39th Annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
UGA Golf Course
Athens, Ga.
Par 72, 6335 Yards
Friday's First-Round Standings
Team Leaderboard
Purdue 284
Alabama 286
Georgia 291
Duke 291
Florida State 293
Arkansas 294
Auburn 294
Virginia 294
Wake Forest 294
Kennesaw State 295
Oklahoma 295
Michigan State 296
South Carolina 296
North Carolina 297
Florida 300
Ohio State 300
Notre Dame 302
LSU 303
Furman 304
Kent State 306
Kentucky 307
Chattanooga 311
Georgia State 311
Individual Leaderboard
Hannah Thomson, Florida State 70
Aleja Cangrejo, Duke 70
Numa Gulyanamitta, Purdue 71
Emily Tubert, Arkansas 72
Casey Grice, North Carolina 72
Laura Gonzalez, Purdue 72
Hayley Clinning, Kennesaw State 72
Stephanie Meadow, Alabama 73
Haley Wilson, Auburn 73
Emilie Burger, Georgia 73
Isabelle Lendl, Florida 73
Additional Georgia Scores
T12. Marta Silva Zamora 74
T30. Kiara Hayashida 76
T59. Abby Johnson 78
*T86. Tess Fordham 80
T107. Milena Savich 83
* Fordham is competing as an individual
