Expectations for sophomore Marie Eline Madsen were high heading into the season after her record-breaking freshman campaign. In the Pack’s season opener at Yeamans Hall Club in Hanahan, South Carolina, she did not disappoint.
Madsen blew away the competition, winning the Cougar Classic by five strokes and breaking the program tournament scoring record. But as a team, the Wolfpack couldn’t keep up and finished 12th.
Closing out her tournament with a bogey-free 9-under-par 62, Madsen finished five shots in front with a tournament score of 15-under-par. Her 62-shot round was the second-lowest single-round score in NC State history, and her tournament total of 198 strokes marks another NC State low. Earning her third career victory at the Cougar Classic, she also tied the school record for wins; a lot of accolades for an athlete playing just her thirteenth collegiate tournament.
Throughout the contest, she remained poised. Not only did she lead the field in birdies with 19, but she also had the fewest bogeys with just two.
For the rest of the Wolfpack squad, the outcome was a bit more bleak. An underwhelming first round 6-over-par performance put the team on pace for 17th. Not much better in Round 2, the Pack’s 2-over aggregate moved it up to 16th. Madsen willed NC State to a 2-under final-round finish to help it move up to 12th.
After Madsen, the next closest finisher was freshman Lindsay McGrath, who placed tied for 65th. In her college debut, McGrath embodied a consistent approach, shooting decent rounds of 74, 73 and 74, and only once recording more than a bogey.
Senior Vania Simont followed close behind, finishing tied for 71st, but her path was much different from McGrath’s. Simont opened her tournament with a disastrous first-round 79 and was 6-over-par through her first nine holes. She tried to claw back into it with a second-round even-par 71 and a final-round 73, but the deficit was too great. As a returning veteran, the Pack will need more from her as the season progresses.
Junior Lea Ludwig followed close behind, finishing tied for 82nd at 13-over-par. Rounding things out, freshman Ellie Hildreth finished tied for 84th at 14-over-par.
The team total of 14-over-par was only good enough for 12th place in a field featuring top programs including Ole Miss, Tennessee, Clemson and Florida. But one thing is for sure: Madsen’s potential is boundless.
Next up, the Pack heads to Toledo, Ohio, for the Women’s Inverness Intercollegiate Sept. 15-16.
