April 5, 2011

PINEHURST, N.C. - The Samford University women's golf team continued its stellar play in the spring season Tuesday as the Bulldogs registered their fourth top-five finish in as many outings throughout the 2011 campaign. With the completion of Tuesday's final round, Samford notched a fourth-place finish at the Pinehurst Challenge being hosted by College of Charleston at the Pinehurst No. 6 Golf Course.

Prior to Tuesday's fourth-place finish, the Bulldogs were coming off a pair of championship titles at the USA Lady Jaguar Invitational and the Samford Intercollegiate, as well as a runner-up finish at the 2011 Low Country Intercollegiate.

The Bulldogs carded a team score of 320 on Tuesday to complete the three-round competition with a total tally of 949 (310-319-320). Host school College of Charleston earned the championship title with a 54-hole total of 913, while Minnesota finished second at 925 and Jacksonville State placed third with a team score of 944.

Individually, Samford's Sarah Butts finished fifth in the talent-laden tournament with a three-round tally of 230 (77-76-77). College of Charleston's Leigh Whittaker won the individual medalist award as she blew away the competition with a 54-hole score of 3-over-par 219 (73-75-71). Whittaker topped a trio of second-place performers by eight strokes.

The Bulldogs' true freshman Natalie Mitchell earned the team's second-best finish Tuesday. Samford's native of Germantown, Tenn., completed the tournament with a three-round score of 239 (75-84-80), while teammate Anna Heim finished just one stroke behind at 240 (75-82-83).

Rounding out the Bulldogs' scoring this week were sophomore Kayla Turner (83-80-82 = 245) and true freshman Alex Jasper (88-81-81 = 250).

The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action April 17-19 at the Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head, S.C., as the Bulldogs compete in the all-important 2011 Southern Conference Championship. Last season, Samford rallied on the final day of competition to earn a fourth-place finish at the 2010 SoCon Championship.

Complete Results - Pinehurst Challenge