AU's Gonzalez-McCarthy captures Paladin Invitational individual title
By Nayla Reese | Sports writer
Augusta University sophomore Keira Gonzalez-McCarthy took home a win on Sept. 22 at Furman University in the Lady Paladin Invitational.
Carding a career low in the first round with a 68, the Jaguar golfer from Spain continued to follow through with a low score of 70 in the second round at the Furman University Golf Course.
“I actually really didn’t know what was going on,” said McCarthy of her place in the competition on the first day.
In that first round, McCarthy overall hit four birdies over the 18 holes and then par on the other 14 holes.
After the 70 in the second round, she followed that up with another 70 in the third round to win by two shots over Averi Cline and Catie Craig, both of Western Kentucky. Cline and Craig each finished at 7 under par.
“My last couple of holes I really started to get nervous,” she said of the final round.
McCarthy, faced with a 30-foot putt at the 18th, turned to her coach for advice on how to approach her last shot.
“Do I really need this birdie, or can I like make it two putts,” she asked first-year AU Coach Embry Holloway.
Even though Gonzalez-McCarthy ended with a par on her last hole, she finished at 8 under par for the one-shot victory over Cline and Craig.
Feeling relieved, McCarthy was thankful for her and team coaches who helped achieve this win and will continue to prep for coming up competitions.
“Just follow my routine, my practices, nothing has to change,” she said.
AU finished seventh in the team chase at the Furman tournament, which was won by Xavier. Earlier, the Jaguars were 12th at the Badger Invitational on Sept. 8-10 in their fall opener.
McCarthy and her fellows Jaguars will compete in the Windy City Invitational in Wilmette, Ill., beginning on Sept. 30.
Contact Nayla Reese at nayreese@augusta.edu.
Augusta’s Keira Gonzalez-McCarthy shows her from with the driver en route to a victory in the Furman Invitational. At the top of the page, Gonzalez-McCarthy would finish at 8 under par to win medal play by one shot. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
