When it comes to golf, there's a fine line between a great round and a not-so-great round. A couple of inches can be the difference between a birdie and a double-bogey or worse. Walking that fine line can be risky and when a golfer falls off the line, the results can be disheartening.
Such was the case this past weekend as the Penn State women's golf team dropped three spots on the final day of competition at the Landfall Tradition to finish in 12th place, 65 shots behind co-champions Virginia and Michigan State.
The Nittany Lions started well, firing a day-one 316, good enough for eighth place and only six shots outside the top five. The highlight on the initial day of competition was sophomore Megan Padua's 73, the team's low individual round of the tournament.
But, the dreaded "big numbers" would show their faces over the final two rounds and prove to be the team's kryptonite.
On Saturday the team posted a 327, which moved it down one spot into ninth place. Finally, yesterday's team score of 324 dropped the Lions to their 12th-place finishing spot.
Penn State was led by junior Christin Pacacha, who finished tied for 38th place with a three-round score of 26-over-par 242. Senior Maggie Lester joined Padua and Pacacha as the only Lions to shoot rounds in the 70s. Lester carded a final-round 78 to finish in a three-way tie for 41st.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed layout, which features water on 14 holes and dangerous hazards around almost every green, proved too much for the Lions, as they finished the tournament with 38 holes of double-bogey or worse (33 doubles, four triples and one quintuple bogey.
This was even more frustrating considering the team's game plan for the Landfall.
"Coming into the weekend we were focusing on playing conservatively because this course can really put big numbers into play," head coach Denise St. Pierre said.
The last-place finish was the worst for the Lions this fall and is not the way the team had hoped to head into the winter off-season.
Even with the bad taste in their mouths, Penn State is still optimistic and encouraged for the winter, looking to improve for the spring season.
"We feel pretty good," St. Pierre said. "We obviously could have done better, but we are still making strides and as long as we stay focused and keep working on the right things. We are very close to being a good team."
