by Matt Cooke
Stephanie Bennett closed out the UWG women's golf season on Tuesday, May 5, in Savannah with a solid finish to the 2015 NCAA South Regional, as the junior shot at 2-over par 74 in the third and final round of the tournament, moving up five spots on the final day and finishing in a tie for 10th place at this year's event.
Bennett finished the tournament with a three-round score of 224 at the Savannah Quarters Golf Club in Pooler, Georgia, posting an 8-over par tournament. She was four strokes away from the playoff that determined the individual players advancing to the NCAA National tournament next weekend. That was how the Appling, Georgia native made it to the regional, as one of four at-large individual bids chosen from the four highest ranked individuals not already participating in the team competition. She became the fifth overall UWG athlete to receive an individual invitation to a regional and was the first women's invitee from West Georgia.
"Stephanie set some new standards for our women's team this year and was certainly a key player in the team's overall success and improvement," said UWG head coach Barry Harwell. "She represented UWG Golf very well in the regional and we are all proud of her."
In the first two rounds of play, Bennett struggled on the front nine and was 8-over par on the front nine on Sunday and Monday combined, including a 6-over par rough outing in the second round. She conquered those demons on the front nine of the third round Tuesday, firing a 2-under 34 in the third round. She had seven pars in the first nine holes on Tuesday and had birdies on No. 2 as well as No. 7.
But the back nine, which had been kind to Bennett throughout the first two rounds, was a 180-degree turn for the two-time Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, as she opened the back with a bogey on No. 10, a hole she had pars on in the first two days. But the big blow came on No. 13, a 494-yard par-5, where she had a triple bogey that put her at 4-over on the back and erased the 2-under from the front nine. She had another bogey at 15 before finishing strong with a par on 16, birdie on 17 and par on 18.
For the tournament, Bennett had nine birdies, 12 bogeys and one each of a double bogey and a triple bogey. Hole No. 17, a 483-yard par-5 was Bennett's best hole of the tournament, as she had two birdies and a par in the three rounds. She was inconsistent on holes No. 7 and 13, as she had a birdie and two bogeys on No. 7. On the 13th, she had a birdie in the first round, par in the second and triple bogey in the final round.
The top-10 finish was the best of any UWG golfer at a regional thus far, rounding out a red-letter year for the junior from Appling, Georgia. Bennett was the low medalist at the GSC Championships, then was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Year for the second-straight year. That created a new category in the UWG history books, as there has never been a two-time GSC Player of the Year from West Georgia before Bennett's award in 2014 and 2015.
Do you have a comment or opinion about this story's topic? Perspective Online wants to hear from you. Submit a letter to the editor at perspect@westga.edu today.
