FedEx Women's Collegiate
Budnik, Bearkats take fifth in Memphis
9/15/2015 6:53:00 PM | Women's Golf
Sam Houston State golf's Nicole Budnik captured fifth behind an even-par final round to help lead the Bearkats to a 71-over, fifth place finish at the season-opening Memphis Women's Intercollegiate from the par-71 Ridgeway Country Club on Tuesday.
Budnik's third-round 71 tied the senior for the second-lowest score of the tournament among the 85-member field and propelled her up five spots on the leaderboard after shooting a combined 8-over through two rounds on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Memphis Tigers defended their home course, placing first at 22-over, led by individual champion Madison Thomas, who beat out teammate Ashleigh Whisenant and finished 4-over.
“The course was challenging and the greens were fast so it took a high level of play to shoot some low scores which we had a couple players do,” ninth-year women's head coach Tommy Chain said. “Nicole and Heather (Shake) were outstanding. They had really good events.”
Shake, a transfer from UH-Victoria, secured a tie for 17th at 16-over in her first Division 1 collegiate event. The junior posted a second-round 72 on Monday, tied for the third-lowest round among the field.
“I saw some good things and saw some things we need to work on,” Chain said. “We have two weeks to work hard and be prepared for our next event. Overall, I am fine with the outcome of the event but I also realize that we have a lot of talent on this team and my expectations are now set higher after watching them play.”
Freshman Jenna Phillips, who Chain added was consistently competitive for three rounds, finished tied for 41st at 22-over while sophomore Sarah Black took 66th at 30-over and junior Celeste Lo shot 38-over and moved up three spots to take 78th.
While it did not reflect in the score, the shot of the tournament may have come during Sunday's practice round as Black made a hole-in-one on the 13th. The Andrews product parred the hole in the first and third rounds and shot bogey in the second.
“One of the reasons I love coming to this event is because it's a strong field and a very challenging golf course which will expose weaknesses,” Chain said. “It was a good event to get a grasp of where we are and we need to get to be a championship team.”
Sam Houston shined on the courses five par-3's, shooting 19-over, tied for second with South Alabama. The Bearkats tapped in 25 birdies, good enough for fourth.
The Kats return to action in two weeks at Meadowbrook Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., for the Bob Hurley ORU Shootout. Opening round play in the tournament begins Sept. 28.
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