Lady Paladin coach Jeff Hull helps Haylee Harford line up a putt at The Lady Paladin Invitational.

The Lady Paladins started the year ranked in the top-20 and have steadily moved up to the top-10. Furman is now ranked 4th in the Golfstat Relative Rankings and 8th in the Golfweek Women’s College Golf Rankings.

“I don’t worry about the ranking. I try to tell them to prepare daily to get better,” said first year Furman golf coach Jeff Hull. “I think we have the talent to get to match play at the NCAA and when you get to match play anything can happen” said the coach.

The Lady Paladins won their first tournament at Minnesota and Haylee Harford tied for medalist honors.

The team came within a few shots of winning their own Lady Paladin Invitational before Texas rallied in the final round to win by 2 shots. Furman also finished second at the Cougar Classic played at Yeamans Hall behind North Carolina.

Freshman Carly Burkhardt helped Furman to a second place finish at the Cougar Classic.

“These kids can really play. They are really good. We have great senior leadership with Taylor Totland and the younger kids are doing well. It is fun,” added the coach.

Furman’s two freshmen have made major contributions to the team’s fast start. Natalie Srinivasan lead the Cougar Classic going into the final round before falling back to eighth place. Carly Burkhardt shot a final round 4-under par 68 at the same tournament to finish 13th and help Furman to the runner-up finish.

The Lady Paladins placed four golfers in the top-13 at the tournament with Harford finishing in a tie for fourth place.

“Everything seems to be working out well,” said Harford. The whole team is playing super well. The whole team is working so hard every day and to have it pay off for us is great,” she said.

Natalie Srinivasan led the Cougar Classic into the final round before finishing eighth.

Srinivasan gained valuable experience from playing in the first three tournaments and especially battling for the top spot at Yeamans Hall. The lessons learned by the freshman from Spartanburg and the rest of the team will help during the entire season.

“We need to finish a little better. In the past Furman would shoot even and feeling like they were doing well. Now we are shooting 18 under at a tournament and that is awesome,” said Srinivasan.

The Lady Paladins will complete their fall schedule with a tournament in Wilmington, NC at the Landfall Tradition at the end of October.

Video Interview with Furman coach and golfers