CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Freshman Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun (Bangkok, Thailand) paced the Penn State women’s golf team with her first-career top-10 finish in a tie for sixth at 1-under, 212 (68-71-73), as the Nittany Lions concluded the week just one stroke outside the top-5 in seventh at the Cavalier Regional Preview at Birdwood Golf Course in Charlottesville.
North Carolina ran away from the field finishing the week 22-under, a full 18 strokes better than the host Cavaliers in second at 4-under. Tennessee finished third at 16-over with NC State fourth at 26-over and Maryland and Charlotte tying for fifth at 37-over, just one stroke ahead of Penn State.
With rainy conditions making a difficult course even harder all week, the Nittany Lions bounced back from a tough opening round on Monday to fire a 3-over, 287, the fifth-lowest of the day, in the second round of the opening day climbing to the middle of the pack ahead of Tuesday’s final round. PSU fired a 14-over, 298, on Tuesday finishing the week 38-over, 890.
“Birdwood was a great test this week especially in the rain. I loved how we competed and bounced back after the first round. The team stuck to their process and just kept grinding in the second round yesterday,” mentioned head coach Kristen Simpson. “Halfway through the final round we were making moves and just 2-over for the day, but we dropped some shots coming in, however, overall, it was a good week and we matured as a team and are excited to get back home to keep getting better for our remaining two fall events.”
Jiratthitinun came out of the gates strong firing an opening round 3-under, 68, on Monday morning and was tied for the lead after her first 18 holes which featured six birdies, including a stretch of four-straight on holes 5-8. Jiratthitinun had six birdies to three bogeys on the round and finished the week with a team-high 12 birdies and an eagle. The freshman carded an even par second round and 2-over, 73, in the final round on Tuesday to finish the week 1-under, 212, and tied for sixth.
“Playing a tough course this week, I went out with a mindset centered on taking things shot by shot and prioritizing my game plan,” commented Jiratthitinun. “My wedge play and putting were keys to my success this week.”
Senior Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) finished the week 10-over, 223, and tied for 26th after bouncing back nicely from a tough first round, 79. Nienhaus played her second 18 10 shots better carding a 2-under,…
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