With only two tournaments remaining in the 2020 Symetra Tour schedule, the ladies looked to tune up for the Symetra Tour Championship at the Carolina Golf Classic. This inaugural event was held at the famous and challenging Pinehurst Golf Course in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
Round One
Scoring conditions were excellent in the first round, with 26 of the 84 players shooting rounds under par. The leader was Ana Belac, who turned professional earlier this season. She posted a six-under par 66, for a one-shot lead over Allison Emrey. Taylor Totland and Clarissa Guce sat two off the pace after rounds of 68. GiIgi Stoll, Linnea Johansson, and Sierra Brooks were within striking distance at minus-three. Janie Jackson,6th on the money list this season, shot a 70. Fatima Fernandez Cano and Kim Kauffman, ranked 1st and 2nd respectively, were both well back from the lead after a 74. Anna Redding, 4th on the money list, shot a 75 and number three, Bailey Tardy, came in at a four-over-par 76.
Round Two
An increasingly more difficult day on the course resulted in only ten players under par at the halfway point. Peiyun Chien made a run up the leaderboard after a 68 which included five birdies and a bogey. At minus-five she was only two behind Belca, who posted a round of 71. Five off the pace and tied for fourth were Johansson and Matilda Castren. Six other players were six off the pace at minus-one. Brooks, Guce and Emrey fell back after rounds of 74, 75, and 76. Cano was tied for 21st at plus-three, while Kauffman and Tardy each posted rounds of 74. Jackson struggled to a round of 80 which included eight bogeys, but made the cut by a stroke. Anna Redding wasn’t as fortunate, her round of 83 was well off the cutline.
Round Three
The number of players under par dwindled to seven after 54 holes. Belac remained very consistent, posting a round of 70 and held a six-shot lead at minus-nine. Lauren Coughlin and Marissa Steen had impressive rounds of 69 and were tied at minus-two along with Taylor Totland and Karen Chung. Pieyun Chung, who got into position after the second round, had two double -bogeys and finished with a 78, falling well off the pace. Notables included Lucy Li who tied for 21st after a 70, while Cano dropped further back after a 75 found her tied for 24th. Early contender, Clarissa Guce, was plus-seven over the last six holes and finished with an 82. Only six players posted rounds under par and Pinehurst got the best of the players with 18 holes to play.
Final Round
Amateur Emilia Migliaccio and Savannah Vilabui posted the rounds of the day at three-under, finishing tied for 4th at minus-one. Lauren Coughlin posted a 73 and took sole possession of 3rd at minus-three. Allison Emrey completed an excellent tournament with a two-under par round and second at mindus-four. The wire-to-wire winner was Ana Belac, who won by three strokes despite a two-over par final round of 74. Chien rebounded from a poor third round and finished tied for 6th at even. Castren came in at plus-three, Li at plus-six, Kaufman at plus-seven, and Cano posted a 77 and finished tied for 32nd.
The ladies head to the final event of the season, the Symetra Tour Championship, which will be held November 3–-6 in Davidson, North Carolina. Laura Wearn is the defending champion of this year’s event which has a purse of $175,000.
