University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Moon Golf Invitational
Play Suspended, Tar Heels Tied for First
February 17, 2020 | Women's Golf
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The North Carolina Tar Heels women's golf team got off to a roaring start to their spring season on Monday in the Moon Golf Invitational at the Duran Golf Club. Originally slated for 36 holes to start the two-day event, competition was suspended due to darkness in the second round. At the conclusion of the first round, Carolina was in second place with a team performance of 2-under-par (286), and are currently in a tie for first place with a few holes remaining in the second round.
Sophomore Nicole Lu, who is competing as an individual, fired the lowest round of the day for any Carolina golfer. Her 3-under-par 69 matched a career collegiate-best round, which she set in the first round of the 2019 Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational. Consistency was key in the opening round. Lu recorded a bogey-free round with three birdies.
Leading the team performances through the first 18 holes with 1-under-par 71s were Mariana Ocano and Jennifer Zhou. Ocano, a senior from St. Petersburg, Fla., battled back from a bogey and a double-bogey in her opening holes to record four birdies, including a 2-under-par back-nine en route to her best round since the 2019 Brickyard Collegiate. Matching her teammate in score, Zhou's round opened with an up-and-down stretch of birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey. However, the 2018-19 All-ACC member found her groove and finished with two-straight birdies to close the round.
The freshman duo of Krista Junkkari and Kayla Smith both tallied an even-par 72 in the first round of the Moon Golf Invitational.
Senior Brynn Walker scored a 1-over-par 73, and recorded a 1-under-par back-nine.
The second round of the Moon Golf Invitational is set to resume at 8:30 a.m. EST. The third and final round of the tournament will begin immediately at the conclusion of the second round.
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Players Mentioned
