Lauren Walsh and her Wake Forest Women’s golf team won their first tournament of the spring season at the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek Golf Club for the second year in a row.
Walsh turned in a perfect scorecard with zero bogeys in her final round and had four birdies, two of which back back-to-back to end her round and put her at four under on the day and 12 under for the event, finishing in a tie for fourth place individually.
At this event in 2022, the Deacs recorded a program-record 45-under-par score of 819 and this season the team’s winning score was 42-under-par. Both scores are top 5 in NCAA history. The Deacs’ 42 under and team score of 822 are both the second-lowest team 54-hole scores in program history.
Wake Forest led all teams in scoring on par four and par fives while recording 60 birdies and 189 pars throughout the three-day event. Rachel Kuehn had a team-high 17 birdies. Lauren Walsh was close behind with 14.
Kuehn led the team at 15 under for the event. Her final round consisted of four birdies, three of which came on her second nine holes and all of which came after her only bogey of the round. Carolina Chacarra also only had one bogey on her final 18 holes, finishing the day two under and eight under for the event. Kuehn, Walsh and Chacarra all finished inside the top 15.
Team coach Kim Lewellen said, “It’s great to start the season with a win. What we really noticed, which is the theme for this team, is maturity. For the team to be behind the final two days and make a charge at the end to reach their goal shows how much they want it. They understand what needs to be done and can go out and execute. We have a quick turnaround but are excited to get home and ready for the Bahamas in a few days. Go Deacs!”
Sara Byrne from Douglas turned also turned in a fine performance for Miami as she carded a third successive round of 72 to finish in T37 place.
Scoring HERE
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