HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Arkansas Tech and Henderson State separated from the rest of the field during the first two rounds of the 2021 Great American Conference Championships as the Golden Suns finished day one at Hot Springs Country Club, one shot ahead of the Reddies. Third place Harding finished 23 shots in back of Henderson State.
DAY ONE RESULTS | FINAL ROUND TEE TIMES | DAY ONE PHOTO GALLERY
The No. 26 Golden Suns and No. 32 Reddies occupy nine of the top 12 spots on the individual leaderboard. Tech’s Katie Whitfield and Henderson State’s Karen Lee ended Monday in a share of first place after posting 2-under par totals. Lee carded matching 1-under 71s while Whitfield posted the low round of the day, a 2-under 70 in the morning’s first round, and followed with an even-par 72 in the afternoon.
Tech’s Josie Roberson shot consecutive 1-over 73s to share third place with Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Megan Brown. After opening with a 1-under 71, Jacqueline Klemm shot a 78 to finish into a three-way tie for fifth place. Bhenyapa Buranasiri’s 36-hole total of 8-over 152 left her in 10th. Allie Weiner, the 2019 GAC medalist, rounded out Tech’s lineup in 15
th.
The rest of the Reddies’ lineup - Gracen Blount, Allie Bianchi, Hannah Choi and Daphney Tilton – all finished the second round inside the top 12. Blount’s rounds of 75 and 74 earned her a share of fifth place. Bianchi and Choi each shot 74 in the first round and 77 in the second to tie for eighth and after opening with a 79, Tilton moved up seven positions with a second round 74.
After sitting in fourth place after the first round, Harding overtook SWOSU for third place. Abby Bryan led the Lady Bisons with rounds of 76 and 77 to end in a tie with Tilton in 11
th. Alicia Martinez sits in a tie for 13
th followed by Brenda Sanchez and Kiera Smith, who make up two-thirds of the tie for 15
th. The Lady Bisons last finished in the top three as a team as the 2013 GAC Championships when they repeated as league champions.
For the Bulldogs, Rebecca Lau joined Brown near the top of the leaderboard as rounds of 76 and 73 left her tied with Blount and Klemm for fifth.
Oklahoma Baptist and Arkansas-Monticello shared fifth place, followed by Southern Nazarene, Southern Arkansas and Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Muleriders’ Mackenzy Turner made the biggest ascend up the leaderboard as her second-round 73 moved her up 17 places and into a tie for 21
st.
The final round begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday with competitors teeing off both No. 1 and No. 11.