C.A. Carter Goes Under-Par in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional First Round
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – C.A. Carter, a sophomore from Lexington, Kentucky, paced the University of Kentucky women’s golf team after the NCAA Tallahassee Regional first round, putting together a 1-under-par 71 to sit in a share of 12th place in the 67-person field at Seminole Legacy Golf Club on a hot and humid morning in Tallahassee, Florida, on Monday.
The sophomore is leading a team that went 3-over-par 291 to earn a share of seventh place. They’re four shots outside of the top five, which is led by the No. 3 team in the nation and Southeastern Conference foe Florida at 5-under.
The top five teams at the end of the three-day, 54-hole stroke play event l will advance to the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, from May 22-27.
Carter, just a sophomore competing in her first NCAA Regional, hung with the best of them in the opening round in Tallahassee.
Despite bogeying her first hole, the par-4 No. 10, she followed up that error with back-to-back birdies on hole Nos. 11 and 12. Then, she added eight straight pars before carding a bogey on the par-3 No. 3 and then a birdie on the par-5 No. 6 to cancel each other out.
It marked the Bluegrass natives’ sixth round under par this season, while it puts her just three shots off individual leader Janae Leovao of Eastern Michigan (-4).
Raleygh Simpson got off to as hot of a start as one could ask for, penciling in a birdie on the par-4 No. 10 followed by an eagle on the par-5 No. 11. Her eagle came off the back of a 20-plus foot putt that sent patrons into applause. She collected another birdie three holes later on the par-5 No. 14, which would be her last one of the day. She recorded less than a handful of blemishes on hole Nos. 17, 18, 1 and 3, before turning in six straight pars to conclude the first round.
The sophomore turned in a 1-over-par 73 for a share of 22nd place.
Cathryn Brown, on the other hand, didn’t get off to as hot of a start but finished well.
The All-SEC Second Team selection went 2-over through her first four holes, 3-over through her first nine holes and 4-over through her first 11 holes. However, the junior and team stroke average leader ended the first round with three birdies in her final five holes to assemble a 1-over-par 73 for a share of 22nd place.
Samantha Paradise, a Floridian who is competing in the team’s lineup for just the second time in her Kentucky career, hauled in a 2-over-par 74 for the Wildcats. It tied her best score contributed to the team lineup this season, while she also continued her stretch of four straight rounds counting toward the team total. The junior, who is a transfer from Daytona State College, is tied for 34th place.
While Karlie Campbell’s score didn’t count, she was just a hair out of contention Monday. The sophomore suffered a double on her first hole of the first round, the par-4 No. 10, but she still tied for the team-lead in pars – with Paradise – at 14. She rallied for a 3-over-par 75, sitting tied for 43rd place.
Scorecard
T12 C.A. Carter 71 (-1)
T22 Raleygh Simpson 73 (+1)
T22 Cathryn Brown 73 (+1)
T34 Samantha Paradise 74 (+2)
T43 Karlie Campbell 75 (+3)
T7 Kentucky 291 (+3)
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