Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders dominate at Women's Four-Ball
8/23/2018 9:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Burris, Long collect even record third title
GALLATIN, Tenn. – The Tennessee Women's Four-Ball came to a close Wednesday afternoon, and much like the 2015 and 2017 final leaderboards, Middle Tennessee women's golf teammates Jenna Burris and Hanley Long came out on top.
The Blue Raider duo are just the first team ever to win the event together three times, posting a tournament record 20-under par 124 (60-64) to obliterate the 12-year old record of 13-under 129.
The event's single-round record also fell in round one as Burris and Long fired a blistering 12-under par 60 with 11 birdies and an eagle to just one bogey to take the early lead at Foxland Harbor Golf and Country Club in Gallatin, Tenn.
The difference in the 23rd Women's Four-Ball and the first two titles Burris and Long won in the event were the names that were chasing them down.
Middle Tennessee sophomore Caroline Caudill and her sister and incoming freshman Catherine Caudill took second place in the event with an 18-under 126 (65-61) while MT sophomore Savannah Quick and her sister and Mississippi State commit Ashley Gilliam placed third at 14-under 130 (66-64) to create a very Raider-heavy look at the top of the leaderboard.
"I think having our teammates be our primary challengers was awesome motivation for Jenna and I," Long said. "It kind of gave us all a taste of how deep our team is going to be this year and how much we are going to better one another because of the playing competition."
The Caudills looked primed to challenge their teammates and the defending champions early in the day Wednesday as they started out par, birdie, eagle, birdie on the first four holes, but by the time the two leading groups made the turn together Burris and Long had posted five birdies of their own to maintain their five-stroke lead.
Trying to overcome a 5-stroke deficit in the last nine holes proved to be a challenge the sisters would accept, as they posted a 6-under on the back nine to push their senior teammates to the final hole with an 11-under 61 in the final round.
"Playing against Hanley and Jenna today was such a fun and friendly competition," Caroline Caudill said. "Being in the final group together made us all play our best and we're hoping these performances carry over into the season for our team."
Hoping to make a run of their own, Quick and Gilliam matched the pace of the two groups they were chasing to start the day with a score of 5-under through their first nine holes.
It was too little too late for both groups, however, as the experienced Blue Raider senior duo cruised to a 3-under back nine and a 2-stroke lead through 36 holes to bring home the Four-Ball trophy once again.
"I'm super excited about how all of the squad performed this week, and to have five out of the Top 6 come from Middle Tennessee is a great way to represent the university," Burris said. "The two sets of sisters performed well and really gave us a run for our money towards the end. This shows how much potential we have in this upcoming season, and as a senior I'm excited to be a leader for an amazing program."
In addition to being the first team ever to win three titles in the Tennessee Women's Four-Ball, they also become the third team to win back-to-back titles in the event's 23-year history.
"It's a little nerve-racking watching them compete against each other rather than playing with each other, but you still find yourself rooting for all of them to play really well and they all did this week," Head Coach Chris Adams said. "It came down to birdies at the end and they all had a ton of them. They were all really competitive with each other and it's a great success to have five of your players in the Top 3 groups.
"It says a lot for the program that they all played so well. It's just different as a coach because you don't want any of them to lose, but it's sort of a win-win because they were all pushing each other to play their best and hopefully they'll all have good confidence and drive to keep working hard and improving."
The Blue Raider duo are just the first team ever to win the event together three times, posting a tournament record 20-under par 124 (60-64) to obliterate the 12-year old record of 13-under 129.
The event's single-round record also fell in round one as Burris and Long fired a blistering 12-under par 60 with 11 birdies and an eagle to just one bogey to take the early lead at Foxland Harbor Golf and Country Club in Gallatin, Tenn.
The difference in the 23rd Women's Four-Ball and the first two titles Burris and Long won in the event were the names that were chasing them down.
Middle Tennessee sophomore Caroline Caudill and her sister and incoming freshman Catherine Caudill took second place in the event with an 18-under 126 (65-61) while MT sophomore Savannah Quick and her sister and Mississippi State commit Ashley Gilliam placed third at 14-under 130 (66-64) to create a very Raider-heavy look at the top of the leaderboard.
"I think having our teammates be our primary challengers was awesome motivation for Jenna and I," Long said. "It kind of gave us all a taste of how deep our team is going to be this year and how much we are going to better one another because of the playing competition."
The Caudills looked primed to challenge their teammates and the defending champions early in the day Wednesday as they started out par, birdie, eagle, birdie on the first four holes, but by the time the two leading groups made the turn together Burris and Long had posted five birdies of their own to maintain their five-stroke lead.
Trying to overcome a 5-stroke deficit in the last nine holes proved to be a challenge the sisters would accept, as they posted a 6-under on the back nine to push their senior teammates to the final hole with an 11-under 61 in the final round.
"Playing against Hanley and Jenna today was such a fun and friendly competition," Caroline Caudill said. "Being in the final group together made us all play our best and we're hoping these performances carry over into the season for our team."
Hoping to make a run of their own, Quick and Gilliam matched the pace of the two groups they were chasing to start the day with a score of 5-under through their first nine holes.
It was too little too late for both groups, however, as the experienced Blue Raider senior duo cruised to a 3-under back nine and a 2-stroke lead through 36 holes to bring home the Four-Ball trophy once again.
"I'm super excited about how all of the squad performed this week, and to have five out of the Top 6 come from Middle Tennessee is a great way to represent the university," Burris said. "The two sets of sisters performed well and really gave us a run for our money towards the end. This shows how much potential we have in this upcoming season, and as a senior I'm excited to be a leader for an amazing program."
In addition to being the first team ever to win three titles in the Tennessee Women's Four-Ball, they also become the third team to win back-to-back titles in the event's 23-year history.
"It's a little nerve-racking watching them compete against each other rather than playing with each other, but you still find yourself rooting for all of them to play really well and they all did this week," Head Coach Chris Adams said. "It came down to birdies at the end and they all had a ton of them. They were all really competitive with each other and it's a great success to have five of your players in the Top 3 groups.
"It says a lot for the program that they all played so well. It's just different as a coach because you don't want any of them to lose, but it's sort of a win-win because they were all pushing each other to play their best and hopefully they'll all have good confidence and drive to keep working hard and improving."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
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