NCAA Golf Championship: Sharon Li Finishes 10th Overall; Posts Best Round Of Final Round
DESTIN, Fla. – Ithaca College sophomore golfer Sharon Li finished the 2013 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship tied for 10th place among all individuals with a four-day tournament score of 25-over-par 313. She is the first Bomber golfer ever to play in the national championship tournament and was near the top of the leaderboard for most of the week in a field of 111 golfers participating in the event. The four-day, 72-hole event was played on a par-72 layout at Baytowne Gold Course at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The course played to 5,831 yards.
FOURTH ROUND RECAP: Li posted her best score of the week with a 1-over-par total of 73. It was tied for the best score among any player in the fourth round of the event, and throughout the week only three rounds better than 73 were posted -- a pair of even-par 72s to start the tournament for eventual individual champion Laura Lindsey of Texas-Tyler, and an even-par 72 in the third round for Nina Puch of Concordia-Wisconsin.
Li started her round on the 10th hole of Baytowne and scored 1-under-par 35 on her first nine holes. She made birdies on the par-3 11th and par-5 15th with a bogey on the par-3 14th. She scored 2-over-par 38 on her second nine with seven pars and bogeys on the par-5 fifth and par-5 ninth. She made nine birdies overall during the week.
THIRD ROUND RECAP: Li started her round on the 10th hole and made a double bogey, but followed that with four pars and a birdie. She closed her first nine holes with three bogeys and posted 40. Her second nine included a birdie, three bogeys and a double over the first eight holes. She closed her round with a score of 12 on the par-5 ninth hole to move her from 8-over in the round to a 15-over-par 87.
SECOND ROUND RECAP: A fast start to Li moved her right up the leaderboard in the early going as back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes moved her to 3-over-par for the tournament and a tie for fourth place on the overall leaderboard. She remained 2-under-par through six holes before a stretch of four consecutive bogeys put her at +2 in the round. A double bogey on the 13th hole and bogey on 16 put her at +5, but a birdie on 17 and par on 18 resulted in a second-round score of 76. She is 9-over-par for the tournament after 36 holes, tied for sixth among all individuals and nine strokes behind the tournament leader.
FIRST ROUND RECAP: Li started her round on Baytowne's 10th hole and started her round with four straight pars before making bogey on four of the last five holes of her first nine to post an outgoing 40. After the turn, Li made birdies on the second and fourth holes to get back to 2-over-par for the round, but three bogeys on the way in made for a second-nine score of 37 and a total of 5-over-par 77. She is five strokes behind the tournament leader after the opening round.
Tournament Leaderboard
Sharon Li Scorecard