By Kamri Alexander | Reporter
Baylor claimed third place in the Schooner Fall Classic Monday for their second top-five finish in many events this season.
Baylor was led by freshman Antonia Matte and senior Gurleen Kaur on the first day as they tied for fourth individually. They were the only two on the team to finish under par on Sunday, both scoring 1-under-par 139.
“Gurleen and Antonia played smart,” head coach Jay Goble said. “They hit it in fairways, they hit it in the middle of the greens. They played really smart.”
Despite not feeling 100% going into the classic due to illness, sophomore Rosie Belsham shot an even-par 70 in the morning round Sunday and tied for No. 47 individually for the day.
Sophomore Britta Snyder tied for No. 60 after shooting an 11-over-par 151, but was able to finish strong going one-under-par on her last three holes.
Junior Hannah Karg shot 6-over-par 146 after starting out 1-over-par 71 to finish the first day tied for No. 40 as Baylor ended the first day in fifth.
On the second day of the tournament, Belsham played to a different tune in the final round to lead the Bears. Belsham was seeing red throughout the round, scoring even- or under-par in all but two holes. Belsham finished the day 3-under-par 67, and improved her overall score to 5-over-par 215. She also rose up in the leaderboard, tying for No. 24 in individual scoring for her eighth career top-25 finish.
Kaur started slow with 1-over-par on her first hole Monday and ended the first nine 2-over, but she was able to recover ending the day even-par. Kaur tied for fourth individually in the tournament, the only player for Baylor to finish red, shooting 1-under-par 209.
“[Kaur] put herself in position to shoot really good scores,” Goble said. “With a 20 mph wind over the last few days, she handled the conditions well and played smart to put herself in contention throughout the weekend.”
Matte scored 1-over on the opening hole but was not able to recover after two more bogeys in the first nine. After an even-par on the last nine, she ended the final round 3-over-par 70. Matte ended the tournament 2-over-par 212, tied for No. 11 individually.
Snyder finished the tournament 10-over 220 while Karg shot 7-over 217 to help the Bears finish the tournament in third place.
Goble said he was proud of the resiliency his team showed on Monday.
“Yeah, I think they’re fighters and they have a lot of resilience,” Goble said. “They weren’t happy about yesterday. But we proved today that we can come out and compete with anybody.”
The next stop for Baylor is the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Atolian Golf Club in Roland, Ark. The three-day 54-hole event lasts Oct. 18-20 and will be televised on the Golf Channel.
