Racers Surge Into Lead After OVC Championship First Round

The Murray State Racers surged into the lead after the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship at The Shoals Golf Club in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

On a sun-splashed day with the rain that plagued Sunday's practice round gone, the Racers' 291 came after they played the back nine at the Schoolmaster course 1-under-par. MSU's 291 was good for a three-shot lead on Eastern Kentucky (294) and a five shot advantage over Jacksonville State (296). Belmont (301) and Austin Peay (306) made up the top-5 teams.

Murray State's upperclassmen trio played a solid first round when Linette Holmslykke carded a 1-under-par 71 to grab a share of the medalist lead, while Jane Watts was in third place after posting an even par 72 which included seven-straight pars coming in. MSU's third upperclassmen, graduate student, Anna Moore, fired a 73 for a spot in fourth place and it gave MSU three players in the top-5. Raeshya Surendran carded a 75 and was in 11^th place in the field of 45 players. Sara McDowell was in 35^th place after a score of 85.

"I thought our team held it together well today and played with confidence," said Racer coach Velvet Milkman whose team is trying to win the OVC title for a third-straight season. "You can't win it on the first day, but what you've got to do is stay in it and stay in touch with the lead and give yourself a chance on the final day. So we're very happy about the result of the first round and we'll come out tomorrow and try to keep playing this course the way we did today."

Round One Notes
Holmslykke finished her first round with a hot back-nine of 3-under-par 33. She birdied the par-5 12^th, the par-4 15^th and the par-3 12^th hole. Holmslykke shared the best day on the Schoolmaster's par-3 holes, with EKU's Amanda Lindahl and Bailey Hubbard, all at 1-under-par. Holmslykke shares the first round lead with JSU's Paula Vega as they are the only players under par, each at 71.

Watts played a solid back-nine as well of even-par 36 which included seven-straight pars. After playing the first five holes of round at 2-over-par, she played the final 13 holes at 2-under-par.

Watts led the field through 18 holes in par-5 scoring at 2-under-par.

Moore also played a solid back-nine of even-par 36.

Surendran's first round had bookend birdies at the par-4 1^st hole and the par-4 18^th.

Freshman Sarah McDowell was playing in her first OVC Championship round today (as was Watts) and did have some bright spots with nine pars on the day.

Round two begins Tuesday morning for the Racers as they'll again be paired with EKU and JSU. MSU's Sara McDowell hits the first shot of the day for the Racers at 9:40 a.m.

26^th OVC Women's Golf Championship
The Shoals GC – Schoolmaster Course
Muscle Shoals, Ala. – April 15, 2019
Round 1 Scores
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1 Murray State 291 291
T1 Linette Holmslykke (1) 71
3 Jane Watts (3) 72
T4 Anna Moore (2) 73
T11 Raeysha Surendran (4) 75
T35 Sarah McDowell (5) 85

Team Results
1 Murray State 291 +3
2 Jacksonville State 294 +6
3 Eastern Kentucky 296 +8
4 Belmont University 301 +13
5 Austin Peay State 306 +18
6 Tennessee Tech 309 +21
7 Morehead State 324 +36
8 Tennessee State 342 +54
9 Eastern Illinois 346 +58

About The Shoals
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at The Shoals is home to two 18-hole championship courses and lies between the Wheeler and Wilson dams on the Tennessee River. Wheeler Dam is named in honor of General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler - the only Confederate General to attain the same rank later in the United States Army. The tree-lined Schoolmaster Course (named for President Woodrow Wilson who was responsible for getting Wilson Dam built and was also known as "The Schoolmaster" of politics), opened in the Summer of 2005. Schoolmaster is more of a traditional layout with every hole keeping with the natural topography along the Tennessee River. This is the second year the event will be held here.

For the OVC Women's Championship the Schoolmaster course will be par 72 with a yardage of 6,025.

Racers Surge Into Lead After OVC Championship First Round

Players Mentioned

Sarah Forsythe

Linette Holmslykke

Anna Moore

Raeysha Surendran

Jane Watts

Murray State University Athletics