ATHENS, Ga. -- Anna Morgan (-4) leads the NCAA Athens Regional following Monday's opening round at the par-72, 6,347 yard University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. Furman (+9) is tied for sixth in the 12-team field.
A senior from Spartanburg, S.C., Morgan, the 2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year, teed off on No. 10 and flushed a 3-wood 221 yards over the water to ten feet to eagle the par-5 No. 12. She chipped in for birdie on No. 13 and added an additional birdie on No. 15 to move into a tie for second place. After the turn, Morgan birdied No. 2 and teed off on No. 9 at 3-under, tied for first. She birdied No. 9 to conclude the round and take sole possession of first place. Morgan, who ranks 76th, leads No. 5 Jenny Bae (-3) and LoraLie Cowart (-3), both of Georgia, by one stroke entering Tuesday's second round.
"A lot of things went well today," said Morgan after the round. "I got some really good breaks, so I tried to take advantage of those. An eagle on my third hole (No. 12) was a pretty good way to start off. When I got up to my drive, my coach, Jeff Hull, told me how far away I was. I had already made up my mind that I wanted to go for it. I think Jeff was a little bit in between, but then when I told him I felt confident and comfortable over it, he agreed. Then, I ended up hitting a good shot. I chipped in on the next hole, so I got off to a hot start and was able to play steady the rest of the way. A birdie on No. 9 to take the lead was a good way to end the round. I definitely had a couple of hiccups coming in, but was still able to play smart and take advantage of the birdie opportunities that I did have."
Freshman Chloe Johnson (E) recorded consecutive birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to turn at 1-under. She birdied her final hole, No. 9, to conclude the round at even par and is tied for 13th. Freshman Liza Lapeyre (+5) is tied for 43rd after posting a 77 with three birdies on Monday, while freshman Faith Johnson (+8) shot an 80 with a birdie on No. 18 to tie for 56th. Junior Caroline Crumrine (+10) is tied for 63rd after tallying an 82 in round one.
Host Georgia (-9), which ranks 30th nationally, leads the regional by nine strokes over No. 23 Ohio State (E). Fourth-ranked South Carolina (+1) is in third, while No. 9 San Jose State (+7) and 33rd-ranked Maryland (+7) are tied for fourth. The Paladins (+9) are tied with 16th-ranked Ole Miss (+9) for sixth place.
Furman will tee off of No. 10 at 8 a.m. on Tuesday and play in a group with Kansas and No. 41 Kent State. The Paladins are part of an 12-team regional field that is battling for a top-five finish and a berth in the 30-team NCAA Championship, which will be held May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Athens Regional field includes four of the top 25 teams in the country, led South Carolina, which ranks fourth in the latest GolfStat rankings. No. 9 San Jose State, 16th-ranked Ole Miss, and No. 23 Ohio State are also competing in Athens.
The Paladins, which secured the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by capturing their 20th league championship last month at Moss Creek's South Course in Hilton Head, S.C., are making their 24th NCAA Regional appearance. Furman appeared in 17-straight regionals from 1993, when the regional format began, until 2010.
The Furman team finished sixth at the NCAA Stillwater Regional last season in Stillwater, Okla., and Morgan tied for fifth to advance as an individual to the NCAA Championship.
Live scoring of the NCAA Athens Regional is available at http://www.golfstat.com or by logging onto http://www.furmanpaladins.com.
T6 Furman 297 +9
1 Anna Morgan (1) 68 -4
T13 Chloe Johnson (2) 72 E
T43 Liza Lapeyre (5) 77 +5
T56 Faith Johnson (3) 80 +8
T63 Caroline Crumrine (4) 82 +10
