West Pennyroyal News

Craig Claims First Collegiate Championship; Lady Toppers Finish Third

Lady Topper Golf sophomore Catie Craig earned her first collegiate win on Sunday afternoon after firing a career-best, 5-under 67 in the final round of the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational. She won the Invite by two shots after posting the lowest round of any golfer in the tournament out of every round.

"I'm incredibly proud of what Catie Craig accomplished today," said head coach Adam Gary. "To go out and do what she did, rising nine spots in the last round and winning the whole thing means a lot to our program and a lot to her individually. I'm so glad she was able to do it in her home state with the support of her family and teammates."

Craig bogeyed her very first hole, but from there on out, didn't look back. She logged six birdies in total, including her final three holes, to climb up nine spots on the leaderboard and claim the championship at even-par 216.

This is just the second time in Lady Topper Golf history that two different women have won individual championships in the same season, the only other occurrence being in 2018-19.

WKU finished in third-place as a team, posting a 7-over 295 on Sunday. The Lady Toppers leave the tournament with their fourth top-three team finish of the 2022-23 season.

"As a whole, this was a good tournament for us," continued Gary. "After digging ourselves a bit of a hole on day one, we were able to fight back and get out of it. We beat some teams and individuals above us in Golfstat rankings and we were in contention as a team on the final day. Both of those things are only going to help us moving forward this spring."

Senior Sarah Arnold was the other Lady Topper to notch a top-25 finish, carding a 4-over 76 at the par-72, 6,001-yard Great Waters Course. She tied for 24th at 12-over 228.

WKU also counted a 3-over 75 from fifth-year senior Kenlie Barrett and a 5-over 77 from the other Lady Topper to win a championship this season, freshman Sydney Hackett. Both women tied for 26th at 13-over 229.

Sophomore Faith Martin turned in a 6-over 78 while Rachel Rich was playing as an individual and finished on a 1-over 73 to tie for 31st overall.

The Lady Toppers will take a short break before returning to competition on March 6 at the UNF Intercollegiate.

Results – Final

1. Catie Craig – 78, 71, 67 – 216

T24. Sarah Arnold – 78, 74, 76 – 228

T26. Sydney Hackett – 77, 75, 77 – 229 

T26. Kenlie Barrett – 79, 75, 75 – 229

T31. Rachel Rich – 80, 78, 73 – 231*

T56. Faith Martin – 83, 78, 78 – 239

*competing as an individual

Original source can be found here.