Castle-Kuehn Hold Carolinas Women's Four-Ball Lead
NEWTON, N.C. (June 30, 2020) -- First round results of the 43rd Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball Championship at Catawba Country Club in Newton, N.C. on June 30, 2020. (6,076 yards, par 36-36--72)
The CGA will be conducting this championship under the new COVID-19 Tournament Protocols. Learn more here.
Related: Championship Web Site | Starting Times | Scoring | History | Photos
Jensen Castle of West Columbia, S.C. and Rachel Kuehn of Asheville, N.C. combined for an 8-under-par round on Tuesday at Catawba Country Club to hold the first round lead at the 43rd Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball Championship.
Castle and Kuehn were bogey-free on their round and made six birdies and an eagle on No. 5 to finish a combined 64.
“We made a couple putts on the front side before we made the turn, and Jensen made some putts to start the back nine to get us going,” Kuehn said. “It was really consistent playing. When one of us was in our pocket, the other was in the middle of the fairway, middle of the green with a look for birdie. I think we fed off of each other really well.”
Castle and Kuehn grew up playing junior golf together, and admittedly, Castle was the better of the two back in the day. Nowadays, both are playing college golf at top 25 schools, Wake Forest University and the University of Kentucky respectively, and they feel like their games mesh really well on the course.
“I feel like Jensen hit the ball really well today, especially on the back nine, she had birdie putts on pretty much every hole,” Kuehn said. “As a partner, it gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I can be a little bit more aggressive because if I mess up, she’s right there.”
“Rachel was hitting it so tight on the front. I had to step my game up,” Castle added. “I felt embarrassed. We’re just out here having fun.”
Three teams finished at 6-under-par, 66 total, all tied for second. Twin sisters Jessica Spicer and Sarah Spicer of Bahama, N.C., Anna Morgan of Spartanburg, S.C. and Carly Burkhardt of Greenville, S.C., and Brooke Hutto of Aiken, S.C. and Napatthorn Paksanont of Spartanburg, S.C. all enter the final round two strokes back of the leaders. The Spicer sisters play together at Virginia Tech, Morgan and Burkhardt are teammates at Furman University, and the Hutto-Napatthorn team represents USC Upstate.
Defending champions Emma Charles of Hartsville, S.C. and Victoria Hall of Moore, S.C. finished 4-under-par and will enter the final round tied for seventh.
“It definitely could have gone better,” Charles said of the team’s round today. “We started off making a lot of pars. Nothing was really falling until the back nine … Tomorrow, we are just going to go out there confident and really aggressive.”
The final round of action at Catawba Country Club begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. with the leaders rounding out starting times at 9:30 a.m.
43rd Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball Championship
Catawba Country Club | Newton, N.C.
First Round Results
Pos. | Team | City, State | To Par | R1 |
1 | Jensen Castle / Rachel Kuehn | West Columbia, SC, Asheville, NC | -8 | 64 |
T2 | Jessica Spicer / Sarah Spicer | Bahama, NC | -6 | 66 |
T2 | Anna Morgan / Carly Burkhardt | Greenville, SC, Spartanburg, SC | -6 | 66 |
T2 | Brooke Hutto / Napatthorn Paksanont | Spartanburg, SC, Aiken, SC | -6 | 66 |
T5 | Callista Rice / Kathryn Carson | Mooresville, NC, Mars Hill, NC | -5 | 67 |
T5 | Gabriela Cruz / Kayla Dowell | Mebane, NC, High Point, NC | -5 | 67 |
T7 | Emma Charles / Victoria Hall | Hartsville, SC, Moore, SC | -4 | 68 |
T7 | Deborah Spair / Riley Hamilton | Raleigh, NC, Reidsville, NC | -4 | 68 |
T9 | Madison Moosa / Sophia Burnett | Bluffton, SC, Charlotte, NC | -3 | 69 |
T9 | Hannah Rose Bruxvoort / Nicole Kramer | Charlotte, NC | -3 | 69 |
T9 | Hailey Joy / Victoria Cook | Reidsville, NC | -3 | 69 |
T12 | Mackenzie Gallagher / Zhangcheng Guo | Hilton Head Island, SC, Pinehurst, NC | -2 | 70 |
T12 | Jodee Tindal / Smith Knaffle | Rock Hill, SC, Murrells Inlet, SC | -2 | 70 |
T12 | Anna Freeman / Kerington Lamb | Aiken, SC, Easley, SC | -2 | 70 |
T15 | Lotte Fox / Mallory Fobes | raleigh, NC, East Bend, NC | -1 | 71 |
T15 | Katie Kirk / Mary Donovan | Hampstead, NC, Charlotte, NC | -1 | 71 |
T15 | Madison Isaacson / Victoria Ladd | Greensboro, NC | -1 | 71 |
T15 | Emily Beiers / Isabella Rawl | Lexington, SC | -1 | 71 |
19 | Lauren Martin / Toni Blackwell | Mooresville, NC, Fayetteville, NC | +1 | 73 |
T20 | Gillian O'Brien / Heather Munro | Raleigh, NC, Clemson, SC | +2 | 74 |
T20 | Katelyn David / Layla Meric | Waxhaw, NC, Wesley Chapel, NC | +2 | 74 |
22 | Ashley Kress / Suzanne Gabriel | Claremont, NC, Waynesville, NC | +3 | 75 |
23 | Grace Holcomb / Macie Burcham | Wilmington, NC, Greensboro, NC | +4 | 76 |
24 | Jenna Nagy / Lauren Denhard | Salisbury, NC, Apex, NC | +5 | 77 |
25 | Kim Clarke / Lori Teague | Newton, NC, Taylorsville, NC | +10 | 82 |
26 | Marti Ervin / Sara Thomas | Cornelius, NC, Mooresville, NC | +11 | 83 |
About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)
The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.
The CGA annually conducts 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 150 One-Day (net and gross) events as well as qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed nearly $2,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.
For more information about the CGA, visit our website.
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