HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.- After the opening round of the 2023 Battle at Hilton Head, the two-time defending champions are four strokes back of first place entering the final 18 holes.
Carson-Newman put together a team score of 298, that featured two rounds each of 74 and 75 to hold second place after day one of the Battle at Hilton Head. Lee University leads with a 294-team score after the opening round. C-N leads SAC schools Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne by six strokes, both of which are tied for 3rd.
Ellie Haughton (Lincolnshire, England) played a very consistent opening round to start her spring season. She made pars on 12 of her first 13 holes. Two bogeys and a birdie in the final five holes left her with a 2-over 74 finish after the opening round. Her lone birdie came on the par 4 second, her third to last hole of the day. The senior enters the final round tied for 6th.
In her first collegiate match, Ida Peterson (Copenhagen, Denmark) tied with Haughton for C-N's best score in the opening round with a 2-over 74. The freshman made two birdies on her back nine scorecard to complete the nine at 1-under. A pair of bogeys in the final few holes moved Peterson back to over par. She also sits in a tie for 6th place heading into the final round.
Hannah Holland (Sale Creek, Tenn.) got off to a shaky start, playing her first eleven holes 4-over par. The graduate student responded and finished her final seven holes at 1-under par. She enters the final round in a tie for 12th place.
Caroline Nemes (Orlando, FL) came out firing in her opening round, making birdies on her first three holes of the day. The sophomore was not able to maintain the early success and played her final 15 holes of the day at 6-over. Like Holland, she enters the final round of action tied fro 12th.
Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) opened the spring with a 6-over 78 that featured zero birdies. The graduate student made six bogeys, five of which came on the back nine. Cummins made par on her first seven holes of the day.
Playing as an individual, Alice Thomas (Mid Glamorgan, Wales) carded a 14-over 86 in the opening round. The junior made ten pars.
Carson-Newman has the best average score on the par 3s and 5s after the opening round. As a team, C-N is 1-over on par 3s and 4-over on par 5s. The Eagles also lead the field in pars made (60) through round one.
Final round's action begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Live scoring is available at this link:
https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=teamPlayer&tid=26564
