BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. – The North Carolina A&T women's golf team hosted the first day of the Aggie Invitational Monday at the par-72 6,323-yard Bryan Park Players golf course. The teams played 36 holes over two rounds of golf on Monday. They will return on Tuesday to play 18 holes in the third and final round.
Both of A&T's newcomers finished the first day in the top-15.
"They're doing what we expected of them," said coach Richard Watkins. "We've got to get somebody to go with them. We've got to get somebody to help them. That's always been an issue with us. We've always had some players come through with good numbers and didn't have anything to support those numbers. Now, unexpectedly, our top two players are newcomers, and we're not supporting those two top scorers."
The Aggies are in fourth place as a team with a 38-over 614. Kennedi Lee, a sophomore transfer from Texas Southern, led the Aggies with a 6-over 150 after the first two rounds.
Western Carolina leads the five-team tournament after shooting a 12-under 564. They have 33 shot lead over second-place Appalachian State at 21-over 597.
Western Carolina occupies the top-4 spots with Elizabeth Lohbauer and Madison Isaacson atop the leaderboard at 5-under 139. Brielle Mapanao is in third place at 1-under and Kayleigh Baker is in fourth at 1-over. Appalachian State's Jacquelyn Taylor rounds out the top-5 with a 2-over 146.
Lee is in a tie for 12th going into the final 18 holes on Tuesday. She carded four birdies during the first but shot a 4-over 76. She posted only one birdie over the second 18 holes but remained consistent. Lee had three bogeys in the second round and birdied the 488-yard, par- 4 14th to finish 2-over.
In her first round, Lee birdied the eighth hole. The 355-yard par-4. After three bogeys and a par, Lee bounced back with a birdie on the 13th, a 380-yard par-4. After another bogey and back-to-back pars, Lee birdied the 167-yard par-3, 17th. She parred the fourth hole and followed with a birdie on the first hole, a 389-yard par-4.
Tori Mouton, a freshman, finished a stroke behind Lee with a two-round 7-over 151. After shooting 5-over in the first round, she had a solid second-round 2-over 74. She is in a tie for 14th. Her only birdie on the first 18 holes came on the 389-yard, par-4 first. Mouton's only birdie in the second round came on the 508-yard par-5, but she did card 14 pars to keep her numbers low.
Jayla Rogers finished 20th with a two-round 156. She carded all four of her birdies on the day in the first round. Sophomore Vileska Gelpi finished with a 157, and Kiaira Porter closed out A&T's lineup with a 161.
