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Leina ends up 4th in Pro-Am tourney
Saipan-born golfer Leina Kim ended up tied for fourth in the 2015 Judson Collegiate & Legends Pro-Am Challenge held over the weekend at the Country Club of Roswell at Club Springs Dr. in Roswell, Georgia.
CNMI standout Leina Kim, seen here going for a follow through in her swing, finished tied for fourth place in the 2015 Judson Collegiate & Legends Pro-Am Challenge held over the weekend at Country Club of Roswell at Club Springs Dr. in Roswell, Georgia. (CSU-Pueblo Website)
Kim tallied at three-round total of 7-over 220 at the par-71 layout to join Emily McKlennan of University of Tennessee-Chatanooga at fourth. They were four shots back from champion Taylor Totland. Totland, the Furman University standout, shot a 3-over 216 to clinch the 2015 title. She was three-strokes ahead of North Carolina State’s Sarah Bae, who fired a 2-over 73 for a second best 4-over 216. University of Florida’s Sydney Needham came in at third with a closing 3-over 74 for a three-day haul of 5-over 218.
Jessica Haigwood of Georgia Regents University-Augusta failed to defend her title as she only managed a sixth place finish and tied Auburn University’s Kelli Murphy and Payton Schanen of Mercer University. The trio came up with similar scores of 8-over 221.
Kim had a strong start at the 4,873-yard course, co-designed by Randy Nicholls and D.J. DeVictor, shooting a 4-under 67 to grab the opening-round lead. She and Zoe Brake of Ohio State University were the only ones who had under-par first round after the latter came up with a 3-under 68.
The Colorado State University-Pueblo bet, however, slowed down after that and limped with a 7-over 78 in the second round to drop to a tie for fourth place with Brake and Totland. Kim, Brake and Totland were in a same group that teed off at the back at 9:20am in Sunday’s final round.
The CSU-Pueblo junior finished the tournament with a 4-over 75 for the 7-over 220. She opened the back with a 4-over 40 as a double bogey at No. 12, and bogeys at Nos. 14, 15, and 17 negated her birdie at the par-5 18th. Kim came charging back with an even par and a near bogey-free round at the front to earn a 35. She birdied No. 2 and bogeyed the par-4 No. 4.
A total of 57 female golfers from different NCAA Division I and II schools joined the tournament, organized by Lauren Judson in honor of her parents Jim and Beth, and hosted by 13-time LPGA Tour winner Rosie Jones.
