Host Bulls Build 11-Shot Lead on Day 1 of Old Friends Invitational

All five Bulls jumped into the top 10 while Erika Smith seized the individual lead during USF women’s golf’s first rounds of the spring season.

The Bulls’ inaugural home event concludes with 18 more holes Tuesday at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. Admission is free.
 
TAMPA, FEB. 17, 2020 – Solid performances by the entire lineup propelled host USF women’s golf to the top of the leaderboard during Monday’s opening action at the Old Friends Invitational.

All five Bulls are in the top 10 while USF (+11) has an 11-shot lead on second-place High Point through 36 holes at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. USF is seeking its first tournament victory of the season and the program’s third team title since the start of last spring.

Erika Smith has a two-shot advantage on the individual leaderboard after carding consecutive rounds of 1-under 71. The freshman from Orlando birded her first hole of the spring season and collected seven more to grab the tournament lead in the stat category.

Ramya Meenakshisundaram shined on a sunny afternoon in the Bay, carding a 2-under 70 and moving up 10 spots to a tie for third at 3-over. The sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., shot par or better on 17 holes in the second round and she’s tied for the tournament lead with 27 total pars.

Senior Sadie Dewinton-Davies and redshirt junior Jessica Whitting (Perth, Australia) are both tied for seventh place at 7-over.

Dewinton-Davies (Newtown, Wales) made all three of her birdies during an even-par run in the opening round and she’s tied for third in the field with 25 pars.

Junior Ashley Zagers (Oldsmar, Fla.) is tied for ninth place 8-over after carding two of her three total birdies during her opening-round 75.
 
USF Scores

 
 
Quotable
Head coach Erika Brennan’s thoughts on USF’s impressive performance on opening day and Tuesday’s final round:
“The team put up solid numbers today and we are pleased with the effort and energy. They grinded through parts of their rounds and got rewarded with smart decisions. We started strong in each of the rounds today and we want to use that same momentum tomorrow. Erika was steady all day long and Ramya bounced back with a statement this afternoon. We are excited to get another lap in the morning. We’re grateful for all the USF Athletics staff that came out today. That energy made a difference for our team today.”
 
Notables

• USF leads the seven-team field with 119 total pars and 23 birdies.
• The Bulls are tied for the lowest par-3 scoring average (3.08) and lead the field in par-4 scoring (4.13) and par-5 scoring (5.18).
• Erika Smith is tied for the lowest par-3 scoring average (2.75, -2). Ramya Meenakshisundaram also was solid on par-3 holes with a scoring average of 2.88 (-1).

Up Next
Tuesday’s final round begins with an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. Follow the action in progress at the official Golfstat scoring page HERE.
 
About USF Women’s Golf
Veteran head coach Erika Brennan completed her first full season with USF in 2018-19 and helped the Bulls become the second-fastest rising program in the country as they climbed 75 spots in the national Golfstat rankings. The Bulls opened the 2018 fall season with a runner-up finish at the USA Intercollegiate and also placed second at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational to wrap up their four-tournament run before the spring. In the spring opener, USF captured the program’s first tournament team title since April 11, 2017 with a two-shot victory at the Florida Challenge. USF finished up the regular season with a 22-shot win at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate on April 2. Freshman Ramya Meenakshisundaram became the first Bull to earn all-conference honors since 2016. 

Stay up to date on the latest USF women’s golf news by following the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).

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