Troy golf programs start their season off at the Golfweek Fall Challenge
The Troy men’s and women’s golf teams opened their fall season with high rankings in the Golfweek Fall Challenge.
The challenge lasted from Sept. 6 to Sept. 8 at True Blue Golf Course in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, for the men’s and Caledonia Golf & Fish Club for the women.
"This week was a great preview of what this team is capable of," said head men’s golf coach Clay Bounds. "We finished second and left a lot of shots out there on the course.
“I'm very proud of how the team fought all week and handled business. Everyone played well, but Jack really shined, finishing top 10 in his first collegiate event. We do have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be, but overall, it was a great week."
On Sunday, day one of the challenge, Troy men’s golf saw Thomas Crane, Lee Poppell, Jack Lowery and Pablo Gracia sho0t under-par, with Crane’s 4-under 68 in the opening round leading the way. After the opening 18 holes, Troy ended the day tied for second place with 281 along with Georgia State.
On the women’s side, Manya Saini shot a career-best 5-under 66 to lead the Trojans in the opening round. The Trojans also repeated history by shooting 2-under in the opening round, marking it their first team round under-par since 2023. Troy tied for fourth place at the end of the opening round with 282 along with Old Dominion, Austin Peay State and Memphis.
On day two, Lowery and Lawton Emblom were the leaders for the Trojans as both shot-under to start the second round. Troy ended off on a good note Monday afternoon with a combined 36 birdies, remaining in second place with 281-286–56.
For the women, Troy dropped to sixth place. Through the opening 36 holes, the Trojans carded 25 birdies as a team. Troy shot within four shots of par through Roberta Alvarez, Anna Roldan Sewald, Mara Dajer, Everlyn Tankersley and Saini, but it wasn’t enough to stay on top of the leaderboard.
For the final round on day three, the men’s team finished second after the Trojans shot 15-under, fifth-best score in program history. On the women’s side, they finished in eighth place.
"We saw a lot of positives this week, especially in the first round," said head coach JD Lamm. "The work we've done in practice, particularly on course management and working the scoring areas, is starting to pay off.
“This is a young team, and nerves played a factor at times. The more we put ourselves in positive situations, the better we're going to do, and the nerves will calm. Far more positives than negatives this week, and we've set ourselves up well for ECU next week."
As for individual standings, Saini tied in first place with 66 on Sunday and dropped to second place with 66-73—139 on Monday. She finished the weekend in fourth on day three.
The Trojans will be back in action in the coming weeks, as the women’s team will compete in the Pirate Collegiate Classic on Monday, Sept. 14 and Tuesday, Sept. 15 in Greenville, North Carolina. The men’s team will compete in the Argent Financial Classic from Sunday, Sept. 27 through Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Ruston, Louisiana.
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