For Second Straight Season, Women's Golf Opens New Campaign with Program-Low 54-Hole Team Scoring Total

Monday, September 18

Burlington, N.C.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

Elon Invitational

9/19/2023 7:47:00 PM | Women's Golf

BURLINGTON, N.C. – For the second straight season, USC Upstate women's golf opened its season with a program-low 54-hole team scoring total, seeing each member of the team's five-player lineup finish within 10 strokes of one another as play concluded at the Elon Invitational Tuesday.

Carding two of the top-10 lowest 18-hole team scoring totals over the final two rounds of play, the Spartans finished their opening tournament marking down a 54-hole team scoring total of 871, placing fourth on the final leaderboard. The total ties the 871 fashioned at last season's Golfweek Fall Challenge (Sep. 11-13, 2022) as the lowest 54-hole team scoring total in program history. The total also saw each member of the team's lineup finish separated by eight total strokes, the closest separation among the team's lineup in one of the team's lowest-15 54-hole team scoring totals—the only time the stroke separation has been in single digits.

Leading to the team's program-record scoring total, Upstate crafted the second and tenth-lowest 18-hole totals in program history, posting a second-round 284 and a third-round 289. During the second round, each of the Spartans' lineup members posted scores of 74 or lower with the team's non-counted 74 marking the lowest non-counted round in program history. In the third round, Upstate discarded a 76, the third-lowest non-counted round in program history.

Leading the Spartans, freshman Supatta Puttanavarat posted the third-lowest 54-hole scoring total by a freshman in program history, carding marks of 72-68-76-216 to place fourth at the event. Her total tied for the 13^th-lowest 54-hole scoring total and marked the lowest by a freshman in her debut in program history. Her second-round 68 tied for the third-lowest individual round at the Elon Invitational, the lowest individual round by a freshman in her debut in program history, the third-lowest individual round by a freshman in program history, and tied for the seventh-lowest individual round in program history.

Senior Suwarin Yord-in joined Puttanavarat with a top-15 finish, tying for 14^th in the tournament field with scores of 74-72-72-218. The Spartans added two additional top-25 finishers as freshman Madison Dixon and redshirt senior Preaw Nontarux tied for 22^nd, posting scores of 76-74-70-220 and 77-70-73-220, respectively.

Rounding out the Upstate contingent at the Elon Invitational, junior Alexis Rieli tied for 36^th and sophomore Rylie Kosney tied for 80^th on the final leaderboard. Rieli fashioned scores of 76-74-74-224 while Kosney wrote in marks of 84-78-82-244.

Scoring Summary
USC Upstate (298-284-289-871) – 4^th
Supatta Puttanavarat (72-68-76-216) – 7^th
Suwarin Yord-in (74-72-72-218) – t-14^th
Madison Dixon (76-74-70-220) – t-22^nd
Preaw Nontarux (77-70-73-220) – t-22^nd
Alexis Rieli (76-74-74-224) – t-36^th
Rylie Kosney (84-78-82-244) – t-80^th

Notable

Posting a 54-hole team scoring total of 871 at the Elon Invitational, Upstate opened its season with a program-record scoring total for the second straight season, also doing so at the Golfweek Fall Challenge in 2022.
Separated by eight total strokes, the separation among the Spartans lineup marked the lowest among the team's lowest-15 54-hole team scoring totals. The separation also marks the first time the separation on the lowest-15 54-hole team scoring totals to feature a single-digit separation.

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