VERO BEACH, Fla. – On a beautiful day set against the backdrop of Bent Pine Golf Club, the Tampa Spartans and Lynn Fighting Knights jumped out to an early lead in the 2021 Sunshine State Conference Women's Golf Championship.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
The Spartans shot rounds of 297 and 306, while the Fighting Knights shot 305 and 298 for a total of 603. (+27). Helen Kreuzer from Lynn is the individual leader with a score of 72-70-142 (-2). After 36 holes played on Monday, the final round will take place on Tuesday, with the first group teeing off at 8:00 am.
Tampa's Emilie Bjorge led all individuals through the first eighteen holes, carding a 70 (-2), one stroke better than Palm Beach Atlantic's Poy Prasurtwong. Kreuzer was sitting in third place after the first round with an even-par 72.
After seeing the course once already in the day, round two saw a number of golfers improve on their scorecard. Kreuzer shaved a pair of strokes off her score in her second go 'round and finished the day as the only golfer under par. Francesca Santoni of Saint Leo carded a pair of 74s, earning her second place in the standings at (+4). Kiirra Riihijarvi is in third place with a 149 (+5).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
Entering the day, a total of six SSC teams found themselves in the Top 15 of the GolfStat rankings. #2 Lynn and #4 Tampa showed why they are two of the top teams in the country, finishing the day atop the leaderboard. The Spartans have three individuals in the Top 10 leaderboard, while the Knights have two. Florida Southern finds themselves in third with an overall score of 620 (+22).
TEAM LEADERBOARD
Women's Tournament Notes
- Tampa's Kiira Riihijarvi is the reigning SSC tournament champion, taking the individual title in the spring of 2019. She shot 74-75 (+5) on day one.
- The toughest hole during round one was eleven, where players shot .82 over par, including 27 bogeys and four doubles. Golfers met their match during round two at number six, where the average card played .68 over par.
- During round one, hole fifteen did not pose a threat as the field averaged a score of 4.22 with four birdies, 31 pars, and 15 bogeys. No golfer shot higher than plus one on the hole. In round two, the thirteenth hole played to an average of 3.22.
- This is the first time that the SSC championship has been held at Bent Pine.