Mercer Wins Second Straight Idle Hour Collegiate Championship

Monday, October 30

Macon, Ga.

TBA

Mercer University

Idle Hour Collegiate Championship

Mercer Wins Second Straight Idle Hour Collegiate Championship

10/31/2017 4:08:00 PM | Women's Golf

Leaderboard (PDF)Leaderboard (BirdieFire.com)Photos

Junior Payton Schanen ties for first place individually

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Mercer used a third-round 304 to claim a nine-stroke victory at the 2017 Idle Hour Collegiate Championship at Idle Hour Country & Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon.

Junior Payton Schanen (+6) tied for first place individually after shooting a three-over-par 75 in the final round while three others Bears finished inside the top-13, including Terese Romeo (+7), who finished tied for third. Schanen shared co-champion honors with Eastern Kentucky's Hannabeth Owens.

The Bears (+43) defended their 2016 Idle Hour Collegiate Championship title as they pulled away from runner-up Western Kentucky (+52) over the final nine holes of play. The two teams entered the final 18 holes of play tied atop the leaderboard. Idle Hour served as Mercer's final tournament of the fall season.

Mercer Scorecard

1	Mercer	305	298	304	+43	907
T-1	Payton Schanen	76	71	75	+6	222
T-3	Terese Romeo	72	72	79	+7	223
T-13	Mary Augusta Janiga	78	78	75	+15	231
T-25	Hannah Mae Deems	79	77	78	+18	234
T-40	Karina Kukkonen	83	80	76	+23	239

T-13	Jodee Tindal	80	77	74	+15	231
T-31	Jaelyn Tindal	77	79	81	+21	237
50	Tiffany Minji Kang	82	82	79	+27	243
WD	Lauren Lightfritz	84	78	WD	WD	WD

MERCER ON THE TEAM LEADERBOARD
Mercer and Western Kentucky entered Tuesday's final round tied at +27 (603) along with an 18-stroke lead ahead of then third-place Troy. However, a third-round 313 by the Hilltoppers was exactly what Mercer needed to break away with its eventual nine-stroke victory.

Eastern Kentucky (+59), Rutgers (+61) and Troy (+64) rounded out the top five. Mercer also bested Southern Conference foe Samford (+92), which placed 10th out of the 11-team field.

MERCER ON THE INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
Schanen was tied for fourth after 36 holes of play and came out on top thanks to a pair of birdies on No. 13 and 17. The junior narrowly missed an outright individual victory, as her putt for par on No. 18 rimmed out and dropped her to +3 for the day.

Romeo, who was tied for second at the start of the round, overcame a tough start by shooting one-under-par over her final five holes (No. 14-18) to finish tied for third. Mary Augusta Janiga (+15) and Jodee Tindal (+15) jumped eight and 15 spots, respectively, to finish tied for 13th individually.

COACH DRINKARD'S TAKE
"This was an exceptional way to finish the fall season by defending our title at the Idle Hour Collegiate Championship," said head coach Michele Drinkard. "I'm so proud of our team – each one of them showed passion in rooting for one another the whole tournament. Payton [Schanen] comes away with a great individual win over a tough field as well.

"A huge thanks to our title sponsor, Craniofacial Pain & Dental Sleep Center of Georgia as well as everyone else who contributed to such a successful tournament."

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Golf, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWGolf (Twitter), /MercerWGolf (Facebook) and @MercerWGolf (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.