It is not normal for a freshman to win the first college tournament they play in, but Suwarin Yord-In is the exception to the norm.
The USC Upstate freshman won her first college event at the rain shortened Lady Bison Bay Point Classic in Panama City, Florida on Tuesday.
The Spartan’s freshman from Bangkok, Thailand shot rounds of 74 and 76 for a 150 total to claim the individual title by a shot.
“I have to thank my teammates, said Yord-In. “They helped me so much to prepare for the tournament and how to play. I don’t know what to say,” said the winner.
Yord-In held a one shot lead after the first round.
“My short game was good and I putted well the first two rounds,” she said.
The tournament played the first 36 holes on Monday in windy conditions and was scheduled to play the final round the next day.
“We got to the course around 6 am and it already was pretty wet,” said Upstate coach Todd Lawton. “We waited for over two hours, most of that time in our van because of social distancing. When they cancelled the final round the greens looked like they were underwater,” said the Upstate coach.
The Upstate team finished the first round in third place playing well in the difficult conditions.
“This is a hard golf course (Nicklaus Course) here at Bay Point. I think there were only three holes that did not include some kind of water hazard and a few of the holes had two,” said Lawton.
The only golfer in the field to shoot par was Isabell Eckstrom from Campbell. Eckstrom’s second round 72 was the best round of the tournament, but left her 1-shot behind Yord-In after 36 holes.
When conditions prevented the final round from being played, Yord-in won the individual title.
With the victory, Yord-In became the first Upstate golfer to win a tournament in her freshman year.
The Spartans finished third behind the tournament champions from Campbell and runner-up Troy.
“As a team we played well considering it was our first tournament in 11 months. We did a good job. When we get a couple of other scores down a little we can be very competitive,” noted Lawton.
Upstate’s Praew Nontarox finished 7th, 3 shots behind the winner Beem Pabsimma finished at 15th place while Abigayle Hatcher, from Roebuck, rounded out the top-25 finishing 24th.
The three top golfers for Upstate in the tournament all come from Thailand where Upstate has recruited golfers for several years. Currently the Spartans have four women and two men on its teams from that country.
Clinton’s Phoebe Carles playing for UNC Asheville finished in a tie for 9th place.
Being the first event of the year for Upstate, the team got its first experience following strict Covid procedures on a road trip.
It was also the first tournament of the year for Lawton to be with his team from start to finish. The Upstate men’s and women’s coach had a mild case of the virus and missed the men’s team’s opener.
“We did all the things we were supposed to do. We had been tested several times. Roommates stayed together on the road. We wore masks, ate drive through or in big halls far away from other teams. It was different and not fun, but I will take all this over not being able to play,” concluded the Upstate coach.
Complete scores are available at http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=21815
Categories: + College Golf
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