GREENVILLE – The Elon women's golf team opened play at the Ironwood Invitational with a 12-over par 300 on Sunday at Ironwood Golf & Country Club, finishing the first round tied for second place.
The Phoenix positioned themselves near the top of the leaderboard on the par-72 course, trailing only Georgia State (+9) while being tied with tournament host East Carolina for second place. Xavier and Columbia rounded out the top five, both shooting 14-over Sunday.
Sophomore
Kelly Zhao paced Elon and is tied for third individually after carding an even-par 72. Zhao closed her round with momentum, recording two of her three birdies over her final four holes. Starting on the back nine, she birdied holes 6 and 8 to secure her top-five standing.
Lilli Downer and
Ashley Lafontaine each contributed scores of 2-over 74 to sit tied for 13th, giving Elon three golfers inside the top 15 after 18 holes.
Sakura Kawakami posted an 8-over 80, while
Lara Rieke rounded out the lineup with an 11-over 83.
TEAM LEADERBOARD (TOP 5)
| Place |
Team |
To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
Total |
| 1 |
Georgia State |
+9 |
297 |
|
|
297 |
| T2 |
Elon |
+12 |
300 |
|
|
300 |
| T2 |
East Carolina |
+12 |
300 |
|
|
300 |
| T4 |
Xavier |
+14 |
302 |
|
|
302 |
| T4 |
Columbia |
+14 |
302 |
|
|
302 |
ELON ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
UP NEXT
Elon will play round two alongside Georgia State, East Carolina and Xavier on Monday. The round begins with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. ET.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Elon women's golf, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonGolf) and Instagram (ElonWGolf).
