Women's Golf Sixth After Opening Round of PSAC Women's Golf Championships
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KUTZTOWN, Pa.- Kirsten Vanderhorst (Gambrills, Md./Bishop McNamara) opened the 2024 PSAC Women's Golf Championships with a 10-over 82 on Friday afternoon to lead West Chester in the opening round of the Championships at Berkleigh Golf Club in Kutztown. West Chester sits in sixth on the team leaderboard with an opening-round 338, just two strokes back of Millersville in fifth, and just six strokes outside the top three as California (335) sits fourth with Kutztown (332) in third.
Gannon finished the opening round with a 306-team score to open up a 16-stroke lead over Mercyhurst (322) in second on the team leaderboard. Gannon junior Dittie Petersen, who was named PSAC Women's Golf Athlete of the Week four times already this season, holds a four-stroke lead over Brooke Graham of Kutztown on the individual leaderboard after shooting an opening-round 71 (-1) on Friday afternoon. Petersen carded birdies on the par-four first, second, and ninth on the front nine to make the turn at three-under and found her way to four-under with another birdie on the par-four 10th to start the back nine. The junior encountered her first trouble of the afternoon on the back, including a costly triple bogey on the par-four17th as she went from a solid three-under after a birdie on the par-five 16th back to even par heading to the 18th. On the 513-yard, par-five 18th, Petersen finished her day with a birdie, her field-leading seventh of the opening round to post a 71 as part of the first group back to the clubhouse on Friday afternoon. This score held up throughout the afternoon as Graham fired a three-over 75 to pull within four. Petersen and Graham are two of just six players under 80 heading into the weekend.
Vanderhorst made the turn at seven-over par (42) but put together a strong back nine, including a bride on the par-four 11th as the lone player in the field to birdie this challenging par to shoot just three over on the back and finish her day with an 82.
Cierra Griffith (Pottstown, Pa./Spring-Ford) and Josephine Genuardi (Harleysville, Pa./William Penn) finished their opening rounds in a tie for 21st place with opening round 85's (+13), including a birdie on the par-four, 325-yard ninth by Griffith on what after the first round was ranked as the second hardest hole on the course on day one, yielding a 5.23 scoring average and just two birdies in the opening round. It bears noting the lone other player in the field to birdie the challenging ninth is leader Dittie Petersen, who carded a field-leading seven birdies in the opening round on Friday.
Morgan Kunze (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) was the third and final Golden Ram to finish her opening round in the top-30, entering the weekend in a tie for 27th with an 86 (+14), while Madilyn Siuta (Coopersburg, Pa./Quakertown) shot a 92 (+20) to finish her opening round in a tie for 43rd.
Event: PSAC Women's Golf Championships-Round 1
Location: Berkleigh Golf Club (Kutztown, Pa.)
Par-Yardage: 72-5,856
Team Leader: Gannon (306)
Individual Leader: Dittie Petersen 71 (-1)
West Chester Scores: 338-6th
T11 Vanderhorst 72 (+10)
T21 Griffith 85 (+13)
T21 Genuardi 85 (+13)
T27 Kunze 86 (+14)
T43 Siuta 92 (+20)
West Chester returns to action tomorrow morning for the second round of the PSAC Championships at Berkleigh Golf Club.
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