Day 1 - Championship Results

Saturday Tee-Times



LEXINGTON, Ky. – Teams and individuals embarked on the start of their two-day journey to compete for a title during the first two rounds of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championship on Friday.
 
The morning chill was in the air for the early groups off the tees as the frost eventually went away. The Big Blue Course at the University Club of Kentucky offered a challenging layout for the tournament field with an AQ into the NCAA East Regional at stake.
 
The clubhouse co-leaders were the Findlay duo of Jill Schmitmeyer, the league’s leading scorer in the regular season, and Gabby Woods, who recorded the only round of under par on the first day.
 
Their efforts helped the Oilers command the team lead by 21 strokes following the first 36 holes with a score of 597 (297-300). Findlay is ranked No. 2 in the East Region and was targeting its third consecutive conference team title.
 
Another East Region-ranked program is lurking behind in second, Tiffin (313-305), as the Dragons have two of the top 10 individuals so far with Alice Putoud and Amanda Johansson. Malone and Walsh are separated by only four strokes and Trevecca Nazarene was third after the first 18 to settle in fifth going into Saturday.
 
Schmitmeyer finished strong with an even par 72, the best score of the second round as the course dried out and greens were sped up during the afternoon. She is coming off the top performance at the Cav Classic that also went hand-in-hand with conference athlete of the week merit. Woods made birdie on three holes on the front nine of her first round while posting a 76 (+4) in the next 18.
 
Woods and Schmitmeyer each had seven birdies on the day, tied for the tournament lead. Danbi Kim was -4 on the par 5 holes to lead all players and Schmitmeyer paced the field at -1 on par 3’s.
 
Malone’s Christina Williams is in the hunt for medalist contention down just two strokes back at the top. Statistically, the Pioneer standout was the leader with 27 pars and was steady with the best scoring on par 4 opportunities at +1, by far the most difficult for players according to the numbers.
 
Kniesly was coming off of her best round of the season at the Cav Classic and is within striking distance of her teammates with a very consistent 74 and 75, mirroring the same numbers as Williams.
 
A pair of Walsh Cavaliers are also in the top 10 with Maria Contreras Luna and Madison Ardelean both at 156 (+12). Trevecca Nazarene's Madison Garrett is also in the three-way tie for eighth place while contending for all-conference status. 
 
The final round of the Great Midwest Championship will tee off again off No. 1 and No. 10 tees tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET. The awards ceremony will follow with recognition of the team champion, top 8 finishers (including ties) and the presentation of the inaugural Elite 23 Award, the individual who has the highest cumulative GPA competing in this year’s tournament.