MELBOURNE, Florida – Pauline Roussin-Bouchard birdied its first five holes to open the Moon Golf Invitational on Sunday. The live score did not reflect this immediately, but the news runs fast in a college golf tournament. Roussin-Bouchard’s name seemed charged with the wind that whipped Florida’s flat layout, wreaking havoc on many other scorecards.
Given the kind of efficiency with which the South Carolina sophomore ran a 9-under 63 at Duran Golf Club – the lowest 18-hole score in the program’s history – it seems she knew where to play each shot, hit each green , align each putt. It turns out that Roussin-Bouchard only played five holes in a Saturday practice round that ended up being eliminated.
South Carolina saw several holes per golf cart only.
“We still had a training round, we didn’t play the training round,” said Roussin-Bouchard as an explanation. “We envision the practice round.”
Scores: Moon Golf Invitational
Roussin-Bouchard is able to reach all pars two in Duran, and she birdied them all on Sunday. She missed only three greens – including one in par 5 ninth, where she bombed her second shot over the green. The French, which occupies the fourth position in the world ranking of amateur golf, has an average of 275 yards from the tee.
“Without a practice round, I just told myself to just get birdies on par 5s and then green and two putts on par 4s,” she said. “Get your partner and then then. I actually made a few shots. “
Roussin-Bouchard, who once shot seven consecutive birdies to start a round, continually gave herself birdie looks on Sunday. If that act sounds familiar, it’s because there was a bit of play in the opening round of the US Women’s Open 2020, when she hit a 2 under 70 on the Cypress Creek field at the Champions Golf Club in Houston and tied for 12th. .
With South Carolina coach Kalen Anderson in play that week, Roussin-Bouchard made the cut and finished in T-46.
The beauty of Roussin-Bouchard’s game is in its layers. On Sunday, Anderson was waiting for his second year on Duran’s seventh par 3 tee box – a third consecutive hole that played dead against a south wind. Roussin-Bouchard pulled a 4-iron – too much putter for the 172-yard hole.
“It was too much if she got it right,” said Anderson, but Roussin-Bouchard’s plan was to take a little and spin.
“She calculated that she is able to know what the spin is doing, the wind and that kind of thing,” said Anderson. “It’s a totally different level than a player here.”
South Carolina joins after the first round at the Moon Golf Invitational.
In South Carolina, Anderson and assistant coach Kevin Williams helped Roussin-Bouchard with short games and how to deal with emotions on the golf course. Anderson says that Roussin-Bouchard is not only a hard worker, but an efficient one. She often plans her own practice.
Sometimes the challenge of training Roussin-Bouchard is to focus on it – preventing it from overworking or getting out of a round and exercising back at the hotel.
“I have never, in my entire career, never seen anyone work as she does with her organization and the way she wants to prepare,” said Anderson.
Roussin-Bouchard’s 9 under 63 went a long way towards a total of 8 under South Carolina on Sunday, one that put the team two shots ahead of UCF in second place. Florida State, LSU and Virginia are tied for third with 3 under.
List
College golf practice facilities
It took five qualifying rounds in Columbia, South Carolina, to define the Moon Golf lineup of five players from the eight-woman Gamecock squad. On Sunday, Anderson also scored 2 under 70 for Lois Kaye Go and 1 under 71 for Ana Pelaez.
Combine the experience that Roussin-Bouchard brings from the French team with that of fifth-year veterans Pelaez, Go and Pimnipa Panthong (a transfer from the state of Kent), and South Carolina looks terribly deep – and with a family team culture. .
During a global pandemic, players from all corners of the world had to support each other more than ever. If there was an advantage to playing three tournaments in the fall – something that few SEC teams and the big 12 were allowed to do – it was being able to travel together and build a bond. Anderson recognized this early.
“We have a lot of depth, which is great,” said Anderson. “And it’s youthful depth, which is also fun.”