The No. 3 ranked Emory women's golf team made the trip to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to host the inaugural Deb Jackson Invitational. The event started with two rounds on Monday and was played on the RTJ at the Shoals' Par-72, 5,889-yard Schoolmaster course. Eight other programs joined Emory in Alabama, with the Eagles fielding two lineups. After 36 holes, the Eagles' A-Team is in sole possession of first place with a two-round score of 595 (+19). UAA foe and No. 1 ranked Carnegie Mellon is right on Emory's heels, posting a score of 596 (+20) on Monday. The Eagles' B-Team lineup is in sixth place after carding a 619 (+43) on day one.
Junior Sharon Mun stole the show, shooting a 72 (E) in her first round before shooting an impeccable 68 (-4) in the second to seize sole possession of first place on the individual leaderboard. Mun's 68 ties her own personal-best and ranks second all-time in program history in single round scores.
Nobody had more birdies than Mun did on Monday, knocking in 11 – seven of which came in her second round. The junior was on a mission to start the back-nine, birdying four straight from holes 10 to 13 before ending her round with two more birdies. Competing alongside the A-Team, Mun finishes her day at 140 (-4) with a one stroke lead over WashU's Sydney Kuo.
Junior Ellen Dong, also competing with the A-Team, was impressive as well after carding a two-round score of 149 (+5). Her first round was a bit rocky, finding herself four over par after 10 holes, but reigned it in to finish with a 75 (+3). She was steadier in her second round, shooting a 74 (+2) with a birdy and three bogeys. Dong is tied for second among all players with 26 pars. She finds herself tied for fifth place and nine strokes back of Mun.
Freshman Carys Code experienced an exceptional first round with the B-Team where she shot a 71 (-1) but dropped on the leaderboard with a 78 (+6) in her second round. Her first round featured three birdies and just two bogeys to go along with 13 pars. The ensuing 18 holes were a bit rockier, but still managed to keep the lead within reach as she still knocked in 11 pars. Code will head to the final 18 holes tomorrow trailing Mun by nine strokes and tied for fifth with a score of 149 (+5).
Sophomore Kiley Malmberg, also competing with the B-Team, was the third Eagle to shoot 149 (+5) for the day. Malmberg was even through 17 holes in her first round, but a triple bogey on the final hole of her round brought her first round to 75 (+3) before shooting a 74 (+2) in the second.
Freshman Esther Jung shot a 76 (+4) in both rounds on Monday, finding herself tied for 17th while playing alongside the A-Team. Jung struggled on Par 5s on Monday but made up for it with her performance on the Par 4s, shooting just three over par on such holes – tied for seventh best among all players at the event. Jung will head to Tuesday's final round at 152 (+8) and 12 strokes back of Mun.
Sophomore Cindy Wang finished her day with a 154 (+10). She knocked in five birdies over her two rounds and played alongside the A-Team. She turned in a first-round score of 78 (+6) before shooting a 76 (+4) in her final round. Rounding the scores for the A-Team was sophomore Katie Park who shot a 155 (+11), who finds herself tied for 27th.
Junior Heejo Hyun carded a two-round score of 160 (+16) to add onto the B-Team's Monday total. Senior Mariana Chong and freshman Derica Chiu finished off the scoring for the B-Team, shooting 164 (+20) and 165 (+21), respectively.
The Deb Jackson Invitational will conclude on Tuesday with a final round of 18 holes on Tuesday. The third round will begin at 8:30 AM with a shotgun start.