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Ekey Handed Heartbreaking Decision As Lady Paladins Fall Short At NCAA East Regional
May 13, 2007
Baton Rouge, La. - The Lady Paladin golf team struggled to an 11th place finish with a final round 301 and Kathleen Ekey saw her shot for an individual bid to the NCAA Championships slip away with a bizarre set of playoff circumstances at the NCAA East Regional on Saturday.
Despite Furman falling short of a team bid to the NCAA Finals, Ekey (67-71-74=212) earned a spot in a sudden death playoff with East Carolina's Lene Krogg for the final individual bid after finishing the three-round event at four-under-par.
Ekey and Krogg were forced to wait until all groups finished the third round before the playoff could begin. The pair started the playoff at the 10th tee at 6:37 p.m. CT. Ekey drove her tee shot just wide of the right side of the fairway while Krogg's long drive left her just 95 yards to the green. Before the two could play their approach shots, the skies opened and lightning strikes forced everyone into the clubhouse.
Following a 1:10 minute delay, the golfers returned to the course fighting impending darkness to complete at least one playoff hole. Ekey put her second shot on the green approximately 27 feet from the cup. Krogg analyzed her second shot for an extended period of time before landing it wide left of the green. After more deliberation and a ruling from an official, Krogg's chip sailed past the hole more than 30 feet from the cup.
With Ekey in good position to take the hole with her next putt, the sprinkler system on the green activated. Tournament officials rushed to cover the sprinklers and deflect water away from the green. Despite their successful efforts, Krogg declared it too dark to hit her putt giving her the NCAA bid based on her better score for Saturday's 18 holes. Furman head coach Jen Hanna consoled a heartbroken Ekey after she was eliminated by the little used NCAA tiebreaker.
"It shouldn't have ended this way for Kathleen," said Hanna. "She deserved a chance to earn a bid on the course and steps need to be taken to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again."
The Lady Paladins' 13-over-par final round left the squad three spots out of the top eight and an NCAA Championship bid. Sophomore Blair Lamb (71-72-72=215) ended the tournament with an even-par final round. Starting on the back nine, Lamb birdied three holes on her way to a third straight round of par or better.
Corrine Carr carded a team-best four birdies and overcame a triple bogey on Saturday to post a three-over-par 75. She finished in a tie with teammate Theresa Paik who struggled to an eight-over-par 80.
Duke (291-281-272=844) notched a final round 272 to over take UCLA (281-283-282=846) and claim the East Regional title. Wake Forest, Auburn, Purdue, North Carolina, Alabama and Louisville rounded out the top eight which advance to the NCAA Championships.
Sydnee Michaels (66-68-69=203) of UCLA held on to claim individual medalist honors for the second-pace Bruins.
T11 Furman 284 290 301 875
T9 Kathleen Ekey 67 71 74 212
T18 Blair Lamb 71 72 72 215
T62 Corrine Carr 75 74 75 224
T62 Theresa Paik 71 73 80 224
T102 Ashley Baker 82 76 80 238
