Senior Anna Magnusson closed with a round of 72 and finished at three-under to win the Golfweek Program Challenge by three strokes. The win marks the third of her career at Morehead State and for the second straight year she has won the first tournament of the fall season.
Overall, the Eagles finished in third place at 36-over. They finished ahead of Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech, the other two OVC schools competing in the event.
"I'm very excited for Anna, as well as how our team navigated this tough course," said head coach Stephanie Barker. "We rolled in some great birdies and played strong. I know there are a few holes we'd like to take revenge on, and hopefully we can do that next year when we play here again."
Magnusson opened the tournament with an even-par round of 71 on Sunday and entered the second round tied for fifth place. She made her move to the top of the leaderboard late in the second round. She entered the eighth hole at one-over for the day, but recorded a birdie and went to the turn at even-par. She then closed the day with birdies on four of her final seven holes to open up a three-stroke lead.
She would maintain that lead during the final round.
Things did get a bit dicey midway through the final round, when she bogied three of four holes at the turn. But, the Taby, Sweden, native settled in and finished one-under through the final eight holes to seal the victory. Magnusson's final tally was 71-67-72-210, making her the only golfer to end the competition below par.
Finishing next for the Eagles was sophomore Ana Dieguez Gonzalez de Mesa, whose 72-75-76-223 total tied her for 18th place. The Madrid, Spain native ended the tournament at +10.
Fellow sophomore Gabriela Villalba Arias turned in a 79-75-71 performance, tying her for 24th. Freshman Sarah Boden tied for 24th place with a score of 77-71-82-230, and senior Brittany Whatley landed in 71st place with an 82-81-82-245 total.
Next up, the Eagles will compete in the East Carolina Lady Pirate at the Greenville Country Club in Greenville, N.C. The two-day tournament takes place on Monday, Sept. 26 and Tuesday, Sept. 27.
