Summerville's Hetzel opens up 13-shot lead

HANAHAN — The College of Charleston's Steffi Kirchmayr has enjoyed some great days on the golf course, but Monday wasn't one of them.

Kirchmayr, Charleston's top golfer, shot a second-round 77 for a two-day total of 150 in the Cougar Classic, and the host team finds itself in 11th place heading into today's final round at Yeamans Hall.

"It was everything," Kirchmayr said when asked what went wrong. "One hole this was going wrong, the next hole something else. And my wrist hurts. I wasn't confident out there at all."

Georgia, led by Mallory Hetzel, a senior from Summerville, is running away with the 22-team tournament.

Melissa Haneline
The Post and Courier

Steffi Kirchmayr tees off on the 15th hole at Yeamans Hall Club during the College of Charleston-sponsored Cougar Classic on Monday.

Hetzel

Hetzel fired a second-round 69 and the Bulldogs are at 9-under-par for the tournament, 13 shots ahead of second-place Virginia.

In the individual competition, Hetzel leads at 7 under, three shots ahead of four players tied for second — South Carolina's Katie Burnett, Virginia's Whitney Neuhauser, Florida State's Caroline Westrup and Hetzel's Georgia teammate, Maria Silva.

Before this tournament started, Kirchmayr had hoped to be lurking among the contenders, but she suffered a wrist injury in Saturday's practice round and opened with a first-round 73.

A two-time Southern Conference player of the year, Kirchmayr is coming off a year that saw her earn a bid to the NCAA Central Regional.

"She's not hitting it very well," said Charleston coach Jamie Futrell. "We're not going to blame it on the injury. She's just a little bit off. She's normally par or better. This course sets up perfectly for her, but I think maybe she put a little too much pressure on herself. In a field like this, if you're a little off, you're going to finish just OK. But overall as a group we're playing fairly well." Charleston's Fiona Puyo is tied for 13th place individually with a two-day total of 144 after firing a 1-under-par 71 on Monday. Also among the players tied for 13th is Charleston Southern's Olivia Jordan-Higgins.

"I thought we played OK," Futrell said. "We've shown a lot of heart. I don't think we're playing totally up to what we're capable of, but we're playing OK."

Kirchmayr hopes to finish up with a solid round today and build toward the future.

"It's only the first tournament

of the year," she said. "Last year, I felt like I improved in each tournament. Hopefully this year I can do the same."