APSU Women’s Golf freshman Erica Scutt leads individuals, Govs second at Butler Fall Invitational

Indianapolis, IN – “We left a lot of birdies out there.”

That statement from Austin Peay State University (APSU)women’s golf coach Jessica Combs belied an impressive first day by the Governors.

They broke out of the gate with rounds of 291 and 296 with freshman Erica Scutt’s 69-72–141 team-leading effort that also placed her in the individual lead after the opening day of the Butler Fall Invitational at Highland Country Club.

The Governors 587 two-round total is the fifth-best two-round performance in program history and places them three shots behind host Butler, which sits in front of the field with a 584. Austin Peay State University is tied with Belmont (587) and seven shots ahead of fourth-place Bellarmine. The 13-team field returns to the course Tuesday morning for the tournament’s final round.

Meanwhile, Scutt fired only the eighth sub-70 round in program history with her opening-round 69 and first since spring 2019. She leads the tourney by one shot with 18 holes to play, outpacing Butler’s Ally Ross and Belmont’s Cameron Fish, tied for second with 142s.

“We had a strong outing today, especially in the first round,” said Combs. “We left a lot of birdies out there, and that’s going to be the difference in the outcome tomorrow. Erica is playing extremely solid golf. She needs a few more putts to go her way, but I am so proud of how she played today. Overall, we all need to hit more greens to give us more birdie opportunities. We scrambled quite a bit to make pars all day, but it was still a solid 36 holes.”

Freshman Shelby Darnell’s 73-74–147 opening day placed her tied for 10th in the individual race, just six shots off the lead. Kady Foshaug is 26th with a 151 (74-77), while Kaley Campbell used a second-round 73 to jump 22 spots into a tie for 36th with a 153.

Riley Cooper went out with a 75 in the opening round and was 44th with a 154. Maggie Glass, competing as an individual, posted back-to-back rounds of 79 and is 59th in the 83-player field.

Box Score

Butler Fall Invitational
Highland Golf and Country Club | Indianapolis, IN
Dates: October 4th-5th