A tough start to the spring for Alabama women’s golf

Nicholas Pursley, Contributing Writer

The flashes were there, but inconsistent scoring plagued Alabama women’s golf at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida Feb. 19-21. 

Finishing in 13th place, the Crimson Tide were 43 shots off No. 9 Louisiana State University’s lead after the three-day tournament. While the result wasn’t what they’d hoped for, there were positives for head coach Mic Potter to take with him from Florida. 

“We had a great round from Emilie [Øverås] on the first day, another great round from Sarah [Edwards] Monday and Benny [Benedetta Moresco] shot under par [Tuesday],” Potter said. 

“Those are the types of rounds that we need consistently from everybody in each round we play.” 

Edwards led Alabama with a three-day total of 4-under-par 212 off the back of a phenomenal second round. Her 5-under-par 67 was the lowest by any Crimson Tide player and featured seven birdies, including two stretches of three-in-a-row. 

Moresco fired off rounds of 1-under-par 71 to open and close the tournament, but a tough first-nine soured her second round. Three bogies and a triple tarnished a great performance of 2-under on the following side. Moresco finished T52 (+2) for the week. 

Finishing just behind was Øverås, who opened the week with a 3-under-par 67 before finishing with rounds of 76 and 74 to close the tournament T57 (+3). 

The freshman duo of Taylor Kehoe and Kynadie Adams, who both earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors in the Fall, finished T79 (77-78-73) and 90th (77-78-81), respectively. 

No. 42 Alabama finished the lowest of all 13 ranked teams in the field, including 11 shots behind No. 45 North Carolina. 

Potter is hopeful that the performance will spark a new fire within his team. 

“We must get better and get better fast. I hope this serves as a wake-up call to our team about the type of precision and intention we need each day at practice,” he said. 

There isn’t much turnaround time for the Crimson Tide, however, as they are set to compete in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate from Feb. 27-March 1.  

The three-day tournament will take place at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and coverage will air on Golf Channel from 2:30-5:30 p.m. CT each day.