ARDEN, N.C. — College women’s golf teams from across the country are teeing off Monday at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, just outside Asheville, in Arden, N.C., as UNC Asheville plays host to the French Broad Collegiate Invitational.
The two-day event runs Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 26-27. Teams play 36 holes without a break on Monday after a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Eastern, then return Tuesday for the final round, when split tee times start at 9:30 a.m. off both the first and 10th holes.
The course is set up at 6,175 yards and plays to a par of 71. For several visiting programs it is a first look at the layout. Both Illinois and Penn State are making their debuts in the tournament, and each is using it to close out its fall schedule.
Penn State arrives in good form. The Nittany Lions are averaging 283 strokes a round this fall, under par as a team, and have finished in the top four in three straight events, including a runner-up showing last month at the Bettie Lou Evans event in Kentucky. Two weeks ago the team took fourth of 14 teams at the Evie Odom Invitational, where sophomore Audrey Lam briefly held the lead during the second round before tying for 14th at even par. Freshman Maddie Koshko leads the lineup with a 70.38 stroke average over eight rounds.
Illinois comes in after placing fourth at its own home event at Medinah earlier this month, where the team finished 13 under par. Junior Sofia Vargas was runner-up individually at 13 under, two shots off the lead, after three rounds in the 60s. The 13-under total was the sixth-lowest team score in Illinois program history.
Live scoring is available through the Golf Genius app, and Tuesday’s final round is scheduled to stream online.
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