Women's Golf | 3/20/2024 6:54:00 PM
GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T freshman women's golfer Paris Fieldings broke a program record in the first tournament and has excelled since.
On Wednesday, the Coastal Athletic Association recognized Fieldings as its women's golfer of the week after Fieldings finished in a six-way tie for eighth place at the Bama Beach Bash hosted by the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) at the par-72, 6,002-yard Gulf Shores Golf Club course in Gulf Shores, Ala. Fieldings helped the Aggies finish sixth overall.
The announcement by the CAA becomes historic for the A&T women's golf program. Fieldings becomes the first golfer in the program's eight-year history to earn a weekly honor from a conference. She fired off a two-round 3-over 147 to finish five strokes behind tournament champion Avery Blake of Oral Roberts. Fieldings started play on Monday after Sunday was rained out with a bogey on the par-4 10th.
She recovered to shoot birdie on 11, a 327-yard par-4. She shot par on her next five holes to remain at even par before a bogey on the par-4 17th moved her to 1-over on the round. But Fieldings remained steady, carding four straight pars before reaching the par-3 fourth, where she placed a four on the card to move to 2-over. Another steak of four consecutive pars came before she reached the par-5, 473-yard ninth. Fieldings finished the hole in four strokes to complete Round 1 with a 1-over 72.
Tuesday became a little more adventurous for the freshman. She started the day on the par-4 fifth with a par but then posted a double and a triple bogey over the next two holes to move to 5-over after the first three holes. A bogey on the par-3 eighth increased her score to 6-over. Fieldings owned the course from there.
She birdied No. 9 for the second straight day, posted a five on the par-4 10th, and then went on a tear. She shot par over the next three holes before carding five birdies over her next six holes played on 14, 15, 16, 18, and No. 1 to lower her score to 1-over for the round to recover from the double and triple she carded earlier.
After parring No. 2 and No. 3, she ended the day with a bogey to finish the round with a 2-over 74. She shot 3-under on the back nine, needing only 33 strokes to do so. Fielding and the Aggies return to action April 1-2 at Appalachian State's Mimosa Hill Intercollegiate tournament in Morganton, N.C.
