NC State women’s golf competed in the Briar’s Creek Invitational in Johns Island, South Carolina, and finished in second place in a field of 17 teams. The Pack shot a three-round total of 856 — 1-over par — to finish five strokes behind first-place Michigan State. It’s the highest regular season finish for the Wolfpack since winning the Ocean Course Invitational in 2017.
Despite coming five strokes short of first place, NC State got a first-place individual finish from junior Lauren Olivares Leon. Leon tied for first with Michigan State’s Brooke Biermann who both finished 5-under par. The junior is very comfortable on this course as she earned her first career victory last season in the same event. Leon becomes the second player in NC State history to earn multiple career victories.
The first-place finish seemed unlikely after day one; Leon shot 2-over par but rounds of 3-under par and 4-under par on days two and three catapulted her to the top of the leaderboard. The key to her first-place finish was taking advantage of par-5s. Leon finished with the best score on these holes of any golfer in the tournament, shooting 9-under par.
Leon’s best hole of the tournament came during round three on hole 10 when she recorded an eagle, culminating in her best round and ultimately a first-place finish. She also tied for the most birdies of any player in the field with 13 over 54 holes.
Not too far behind Leon was freshman Ellise Rymer who finished in a tie for 13th with a total score of 217 — 1-over par — with her best performance coming in the last round. After shooting 3-over par in round two, Rymer bounced back with a 3-under par showing in round three. Rymer recorded five birdies in the last round to secure her second career top-20 finish.
Much like Leon, Rymer excelled on par-5s, shooting 4-under on them throughout the tournament. She was also a birdie machine as she collected 11 birdies which was two less than her teammate Leon.
NC State’s last top-20 finish came from senior Isabel Amezcua who finished in a tie for 16th with a total score of 218 — 2-over par. Unlike the teammates above her, Amezcua got off to a hot start with a 1-under first round before shooting over par in her last two rounds. Although the second round was her worst round, Amezcua recorded an eagle on hole 18.
To round out the Wolfpack’s team competitors were sophomore Vania Simont who finished tied for 21st and senior Jaclyn Kenzel who finished in a tie for 58th.
As a team, the Pack dominated on par-5s finishing with the best score of any team, shooting 17-under on them for the tournament. NC State also recorded the most birdies of any school with 45 over three rounds.
Junior Caitlin Whitehead and freshman Lea Ludwig competed as individuals placing in a tie for 80th and tie for 95th, respectively.
The Wolfpack will look to carry the momentum of this tournament as it is set to compete in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Georgia. The event will be held from March 29-30.
