COLUMBIA, Mo. – Behind an even-par opening round from senior Becca Black and a two-over first round from Tatum King, the Illinois State women's golf team stands in a tie of fourth place at the 2019 Johnie Imes Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri.
"I was really pleased with our opening round," said ISU head coach Breanne Hall. "The conditions were tough from the start, but we picked up smart targets and stayed committed to the shots. I am looking forward to continuing our strong play into tomorrow."
ISU's first-round score of 301 has them just 11 strokes out of the lead. Tournament host Missouri leads the field with a 290 while Oral Roberts (296) and Florida International (297) stand in front of the Redbirds, while Arkansas State is knotted with ISU in fourth place overall.
Black's first-round score has her in a three-way tie for fourth place individually. She got off to a rough start on the round with back-to-back bogeys to start the round; however, birdies on the par-four fifth hole and the par-four 14th hole, including pars on the remaining 14 holes, saw her close out her even-par opening round.
King, who is tied for eighth, picked up a team-high four birdies on the round, and closed her back nine at one stroke under par. Her two-over final score has her second on the squad.
Paige Seiser started her day with four consecutive pars, and only a solitary bogey on the fifth hole provided the only exception to her all-par front nine. A birdie, par, and bogey to start off the back nine kept her at one over par; however, one rough hole put her at five over for the opening round, as she stands in a tie of 42nd in the field.
Emma Sutton and Ali Schrock each carded a six-over 78 on the day for ISU, as the pair tied for the fourth scoring spot on the team and are tied for 48th place in the field. Sutton recorded 13 pars on the round while Schrock had eight pars and a pair of birdies to record the 78.
The Redbirds tee off starting at 8 am with Schrock, as Sutton (8:09 am), Seiser (8:18 am), King (8:27 am), and Black (8:36 am) also go off of the first hole. Playing on the course with ISU will be golfers from Arkansas State and Northern Illinois.
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