No. 23 Trojans Finish Runner-Up at Whistling Straits
KOHLER, Wisc. – Facing brutal conditions on Tuesday the 23rd-ranked Taylor women's golf team closed out an impressive fall season with a runner-up finish at the Whistling Straits Championship.
The Trojans entered Tuesday's final round in third place three shots behind NCAA Division II Northern Michigan and No. 13 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) after an opening round score of 331 on the 5,814-yard, par-72 layout of the Irish Course at the world-famous Whistling Straits resort.
Taylor carded a team score of 331 in Monday's opening round with sophomore Maddie Thomas leading the way for the Trojans with a 77 followed by a 78 from freshman Nicole Jung. Taylor also counted an 86 from junior Elizabeth Jackson while sophomore Annie Stimmel and freshman Taylor French each fired 90's.
Tuesday's weather was less than ideal as players were met with temperatures in the low 40's and winds gusting from 25-35 miles-per-hour with intermittent rain. Scores ballooned in the tough conditions with the Trojans carding a final round tally of 344, which was actually the second lowest round of the day in the 10-team field.
French led the way for TU with an 82 while Jung carded an 83, Thomas tallied an 88, and Stimmel fired a 91 on Tuesday.
The Trojans finished second behind NCAA Division II Northern Michigan (328-339) while defeating No. 13 and last year's NAIA runner-up Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) (328-349) by two strokes.
Jung claimed fourth place in the field of 50 players with a two-day total of 161 (78-83) to lead the Trojans. Jung finished in the top five in four of TU's five fall tournaments, including a pair of tournament victories.
Thomas added a tie for sixth place at 165 (77-88) to collect her fourth top-10 finish in the fall season. French's final round 82 was the second lowest round of the day and propelled the freshman into a tie for 16th place while Stimmel (90-91) claimed 21st place and Jackson (86-98) claimed 25th place.
The Trojans finish an impressive fall season with two tournament victories and three runner-up finishes for a head-to-head record of 43-3-1.