Chantry McMahan shot an even-par 36 over the back nine holes and finished the opening round of the Midwestern State Invitational with a 4-over 76, sitting in a tie for fifth-place after the opening 18 holes. But A&M-Commerce struggled in day one, shooting a 56-over 344 and is in 15th-place after the opening round, five strokes ahead of 16th-place A&M-Kingsville (61-over, 349).
McMahan, who is coming off a sixth-place finish at last week’s Pepsi Lion Invitational, continued her strong play as she recovered from a 4-over 40 on the front nine to shoot an even-par 36 over the final nine holes.
The rest of the Lions struggled over the opening 18 holes as Megan Benitez and Holly Jenkins are tied for second on the A&M-Commerce scorecard with a 17-over 89, one stroke better than Sara Diaz’s 18-over 90. The Lions will compete with just four golfers Tuesday after the disqualification of Chelsea McCoy.
A&M-Commerce looks to make a push over the final 18 holes, trailing 14th-place St. Mary’s (54-over, 342) by just two strokes and are eight shots back of 13th-place Cameron (48-over, 336).
Host Midwestern State had a strong showing in its home tournament as it sits tied with fellow Lone Star Conference opponent Northeastern State atop the team standings with a 22-over 310. Tuesday’s final round should prove to be interesting as third-place Cameron (23-over, 311) is just one stroke back of the leaders with St. Edward’s (24-over, 312) only two strokes back. Fifth-place Redlands C.C. could also make a run, sitting five shots behind at 27-over 315.
Tuesday’s final round gets underway at 8:30 a.m. from the Champions Course at Weeks Park in Wichita Falls.