APSU Sports Information
Owens Cross Roads, AL – The back nine of nine of The Highlands Course was unkind to Austin Peay State University women’s golf team, Monday, during first-round Ohio Valley Conference championship play, being played The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Hampton Cove.
Still they sit in fourth place after Day 1, shooting an opening-round 308. Eastern Kentucky is the runaway leader after Round 1, shooting a 5-over 293. Murray State is in second (304), followed by Jacksonville State (307).
“We played very well on the front side,” APSU coach Sara Robson said. “We had a couple of doubles but we battled back from them. The back (nine) really played tough today. We let a couple of swings get away from us. We had a couple of swings inside 100 yards that should have never happened.
“We did put well today—we made a lot of putts today. We minimized the three putts, although we had a couple we shouldn’t have had, putts within six feet.”
Senior Jessica Cathey, like she has all season—especially this spring—led the Lady Govs, with a 1-over 73. She had four frontside birdies with one bogey—caused by her tee shot plugging on No. 3.
Junior Morgan Kauffman, playing at No. 2, shot a 75.
“They both are playing with great confidence right now,” Robson said. “Jessica has played great all semester and it continued today. She had five birdies, four on the front. She also had one on 17 and if she would have hit on 18 it was in. She putted well today, to a point where she said she couldn’t miss with her putter.
“I am very proud of Kauffman. She had a couple of shots there on the last four holes that really could have hurt her. But she maintained her composure and managed to get it in the hole to finish strong for us.”
Freshmen twins Ashton and Taylor Goodley began their careers with birdies on No. 1 but ran into speed bumps. After the first-hole birdie, Taylor’s drive on No. 2 found a lip of the bunker. She went from one-under to one-over. She two more doubles on the backside to finish at 81—the same score as sophomore AnnaMichelle Moore.
“The twins really handled their nerves well on the first tee, both getting birdies,” Robson said. “That helped them settle down some. Taylor got a bad break on two—she did good just to get it out of the hole it was in. I was proud of Taylor, she overcame some bad breaks but settled down to shoot what she did.
“Ashton just played really steady.”
Despite the late-round struggles, the Lady Govs will head into the second round of the 54-hole tourney in the Top 5. They will attempt to clean up their games, especially with the short irons.
“As far as the yardages, where we were hitting them on the green, I thought we did a good job of putting the ball on the green,” Robson said. “We need to execute the shots that should be easy. We tend to handle the tough ones pretty well, but we relax a little bit on those that should be easy.
“We need to handle 100 yards to 20 yards a little better. We need to be a little more aggressive and do what we can to get it in the hole.”
Box Score
2016 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Championship
RTJ at Hampton Cove
Owens Crossroads, AL
| Pos. | School – Players | Round 1 | Totals |
| 4 | Austin Peay State University | 308 | 308 |
| 4 | Jessica Cathey (1) | 73 | 73 |
| T 8 | Morgan Kauffman (2) | 75 | 75 |
| T 20 | Ashton Goodley (4) | 79 | 79 |
| T 29 | Taylor Goodley (3) | 81 | 81 |
| T 29 | AnnaMichelle Moore (5) | 81 | 81 |
