“The team did a really good job at staying patient,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson said. “We played the stretch of 11, 12, 13 and 14 really well.”
The lead is South Carolina's first after the opening round this season, and its 282 is the second-lowest score of the 2018-19 campaign. Of the seven SEC squads in the field, the closest conference team to the Gamecocks is LSU, which finished with a first-round score of 6-over 290.
Florida State’s Frida Kinhult started on No. 10 and logged four birdies in her opening six holes. Even though she tossed in three bogeys throughout the day, no one could match her 3-under 68. Kinhult, who will play the ANA Inspiration, an LPGA major, next month, leads a group of four players by one shot. That group includes teammate Beatrice Wallin, reigning NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest, Arkansas’ Kaylee Benton and Veysseyre.
Wake Forest was 1 over as a team on Friday and is solo third. Duke occupies the fourth spot with a 5-over total, but it’s perhaps more impressive than the scorecard shows. Flu swept through the roster and senior stalwart Virginia Elena Carta dealt with an injury flare-up. The team is seven shots off the pace despite playing the last two holes in 4 over.
“We’re not exactly where we want to be after day one, but given our illness and injury, I’m proud of these women,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said. “Ana [Belac] and Virginia [Elena Carta] took one for the team today. And, Gina [Kim] had only played 10 holes in the practice round, in an effort to rest her due to sickness. She shot two under today on those 10 holes. We’re going to treat the illness and Virginia’s injury very carefully tonight and hope for better health tomorrow.”
Information from South Carolina Athletics, Duke Athletics used in this report