FSU sports information:
Florida State senior Alice Hodge and sophomore Katherine Cook carded identical scores of 70 and are in a tie for ninth place in the individual standings, and the Seminoles are in sixth place in the team standings after the first of three rounds at the ACC Women’s Golf Championship at the Porters Neck Country Club. Hodge birdied the final two holes of her round, while Cook was 3 under par over the final 17 holes of the round as the pair gives Florida State multiple golfers in the top-10 of the individual standings.
With three golfers in the top-10 of the individual standings, Clemson holds the first-round lead with a 10-under par team score of 278. The Tigers counted four scores a par or better in their first-round team score. Wake Forest is in second place – two strokes behind Clemson. Isabella Rawl of Clemson carded a 5-under par score of 67 and is the individual leader after the first round.
“We had a decent start to the tournament in round one,” said Head Coach Amy Bond. “The more opportunities we have to play this course, the better we are going to get on it. We didn’t make the putts that we needed to today, but with a few tweaks, I’m comfortable those putts will fall in the next couple of days.”
The Seminoles closed well as the four golfers who counted their scores (Cook, Hodge, Charlotte Heath, and Mirabel Ting) were a combined 2 under par on the final four holes of the round. Both Hodge and Ting birdied their final holes and the counting quartet carded seven birdies combined on holes 15, 16, 17 and 18. The Seminoles ranked fourth in the round among the 12 teams in the championship with 17 birdies.
Hodge and Cook played the best two rounds of the day for the Seminoles with scores of 70 and a combined nine birdies between them. Following a birdie on her first hole, Hodge was below par for the entirety of the round, while Cook was above par for only her first two holes of the day.
Hodge played her best round of golf since shooting a 70 in the second round of the Valspar Augusta Invitational on March 10, 2024. She birdied four of her first ten holes, briefly took over the individual lead at 4 under par and closed with a flourish. Hodge finished birdie-birdie to earn the second- best ACC Championship score of her career - nearly tying the 69 she totaled in the first round of the ACC Championship in 2022.
Hodge totaled a team-leading six birdies and 15 holes at par or better. She and Cook are just three strokes out of the individual lead. The Seminoles’ duo are two of only 16 players in the 60-player field who shot 70 or better in the first round.
Cook played the best round of her career as she shot below par for the first time in now eight-tournament career at Florida State. She bettered her previous career low – a 72 in the spring 2023 Florida State Match Up by two strokes.
Following a bogey on her first hole, Cook ripped off 17 consecutive holes at par or better to finish her career best round at 2 under par. She birdied her third, ninth and 16 holes to complete a nearly clean card and put herself into the top 10 of the individual standings. Cook totaled 14 holes scored at par – and was tied for third among the individuals in the tournament with her career best par total for a single round.
Senior Charlotte Heath carded an even par score of 72 – a score that has her in a tie for 23rd place in the individual standings. She totaled three birdies and 15 holes scored at par or better to rank inside the top-25 of the individual standings. Ting, who is making her ACC Championship debut, is in a tie for 36th place with score of 74.
Florida State is playing without All-American and 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion Lottie Woad who began play in the Chevron Championship – one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. She earned the exemption by winning the ANWA and will return to the Seminoles’ lineup for the NCAA regional championships (May 6-8). The teams will be announced to the regionals on April 24 at 2:00 p.m. on the Golf Channel.
Florida State will play with North Carolina and Virginia Tech in the Friday’s second round beginning at 9:00 a.m. on hole No.1.
ACC Championship/April 18-21, 2024
Porters Neck Country Club/Wilmington, N.C./Par 72
6/12.-Florida State, 286
T9.-Katherine Cook, 70
T9,-Alice Hodge, 70
T23,-Charlotte Heath, 72
T36.-Mirabel Ting, 74
T54.-Kaylah Williams, 78
ACC Championship/April 18-21, 2024
Porters Neck Country Club/Wilmington, N.C./Par 72
1.-Clemson, 278
2.-Wake Forest, 280
T3.-Virginia, 283
T3.-North Carolina, 283
T3.-Virginia Tech 283
6.-Florida State, 286
7.-NC State, 288
8.-Miami 293
9.-Duke, 294
10.-Louisville, 296
11.-Boston College, 297
12.-Notre Dame, 298
