Women's Golf | 5/8/2024 8:39:00 PM
PONTE VERDA BEACH, Fla. – North Carolina A&T sophomore women's golfer Tori Mouton had a superb PGA Works Collegiate Championships during the week, culminating in a fourth-place finish at the par-72 TPC Sawgrass golf courses on Wednesday.
Mouton finished with a three-round 10-over 226 to finish six shots off the lead after being the first and second-round leader after Monday's and Tuesday's action. Howard University's Kendall Jackson earned top medalist honors after winning the tournament with a 4-over 220. She held off a strong challenge from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's Lucie Charbonnier, who shot a final round 3-under 69 to finish one shot off the lead at 5-over 221.
Charbonnier's teammate Samantha Gibbs finished one shot better than Mouton with a 9-over 225. Delaware State's Claudia Hofmeister also finished in the top 5, finishing one shot behind Mouton with a 227 after shooting a final-round 2-under 70 on Wednesday. Mouton opened the PGA Works Collegiate Championships with one of her best rounds of the season, posting an even-round 72.
Mouton opened the tournament with three straight pars before scoring a birdie on the par-4 third on the Valley Course. Mouton was one of only two players to birdie the third on the Valley Course. After the birdie, Mouton parred the next four holes before earning another birdie on the par-4 ninth, a 301-yard hole that Mouton was one of only two players to birdie during the week.
Mouton's round did not run into difficulty until she bogeyed the 11th and 12th holes before putting together another string of four straight pars. She moved back to 1-under for the round when she birdied the par-5 17th, a 476-yard hole. Mouton ended her round with a bogey to finish the first round in a three-way tie with North Carolina Central University's Trinity Ahing and Jackson.
Jackson and Mouton continued to compete for first place through the second round. Mouton stayed in the lead by shooting a second-round 73, while Jackson fell off the pace with a 75 on Tuesday. Mouton strengthened her lead by opening Tuesday with birdie, birdie on the Stadium Course. The first birdie took place on the 340-yard par-4 first before carding a four on the par-5, 447-yard second. After a bogey on three and a par on No. 4, she returned to red numbers when she carded a three on the par-4, 360-yard fifth.
On Tuesday, she completed the front nine with four straight pars to finish the first nine holes at 2-under. On her first three holes on the back nine, she posted a bogey, a birdie, and another birdie to move to 3-under for the round. But after parring the 13th, she posted a double bogey on the 14th to move to 1-under on the round. Mouton bogeyed the 16th and 18th to finish Round 2 at 1-over.
Mouton faltered in the final round, shooting an 81, while Jackson posted a 73 to make her move toward the tournament title. Mouton did record a birdie in her final round, a three on the par-4 ninth on the Valley Course.
Freshman Sofia Fernando moved up six spots on Wednesday to 26th place after shooting a final-round 75. Fernando finished the tournament with a 29-over 245 after shooting 88 and 82, respectively, over the first two rounds. Fernando made her surge on the Valley Course, carding three birdies to leap the leaderboard.
After posting only one birdie over the first two rounds, she carded a birdie on No. 5. She scored three on the par-4, 304-yard 13th to move to 1-over on Wednesday. After parring the 14th, she posted another red number when she birdied the par-4 15th, 347-yard hole. A bogey and double bogey on 16 and 18 led to Fernando's 75.
Senior Jayla Rogers also played for the Aggies during the week. Her best round was a 79 on Wednesday. She had four birdies for the week as A&T's 2023-24 season came to an end.
