Murphy Leads Bears to Third at Fighting Camel Fall Classic

BUIES CREEK, N.C. (MERCER RELEASE) – The Mercer University women’s golf team fired a 300 Tuesday to capture third place at Campbell’s Fighting Camel Classic. Senior Mary Alice Murphy’s final round 3-under-par 69 propelled the senior to a tie in the individual championship at the Keith Hill Golf Club.

Entering the final round six shots off the lead, Murphy fired a 3-under-par 69 and raced up the leaderboard to finish 5-over-par for the championship and in a three-way tie for the individual title with Old Dominion’s Elizabeth Haycock and Campbell’s Kaylin Yost.

“Mary Alice came to play today,” Mercer head coach Gary Guyer said. “She is striking the ball as well as she ever has. She had a great game plan and stuck with it all three rounds.”

The Bears recorded a 300 as a team during the final round and finished behind runner-up Old Dominion and tournament champion Campbell who captured the title with a 23-over-par 887.

“We had a lot of shots that we needed to make up today, and we fought hard, but we came up a little short,” Guyer said. “Campbell would have been tough to catch, but I was hoping we could get into second place. I was proud of our effort.”

Mercer placed four players inside the top 20, as Haley Austin followed Murphy with a final round 6-over-par 78 to finish tied for 18th place overall. Lacey Fears and Katy Harris finished in a tie for 20th place overall after Fears’ tallied a final round 78 and Harris recorded a 3-over-par 75. Sarah Brown rounded out the team in a tie for 48th following a final round 81.

The third-place finish marked the final event for the Bears during the fall season as Mercer will now prepare for a full slate of spring tournaments, beginning with the Florida State Matchup at Southwood Country Club Feb. 14-16 in Tallahassee, Fla.