SPORTS

 

Last Sunday, Casey Danielson had one of the biggest days of her golfing career – earning her first tournament victory on the Symetra Tour. Danielson started the day at 3 under par, five shots behind the leader Allison Emrey.

Emrey, a Charlotte native was a crowd favorite, as one of several golfers with local ties. She played golf for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and was named to the 2015 All-ACC team. Emrey had held the lead at the end of the first and second rounds of play. She was in the final pairing, and played alongside Fatima Fernandez Cano from Santiago, Spain. With COVID protocols easing, a small crowd walked the course – following the final pair.

Danielson, originally from Osceola, WI played in the next-to-last pairing for Sunday’s round, alongside Vicky Hurst from Melbourne, FL. Hurst finished the day with a par 72, an even round of golf on the 6,783-yard River Run course. She tied for 6^th with 6 other players.

Danielson had been hanging out at the 18^th hole watching the final pair finish play. A birdie by Emrey would have tied her with the lead, a birdie by Cano would have given her the outright lead. In the end, both golfers parred the par-5 18^th – sending Danielson and Fernandez Cano into the playoff, leaving Emrey in sole possession of third place.

Per the tournament rules, the golfers would return to the 18^th tee to play the closing hole again, and again, and again – in order to determine the winner. Thankfully, the tournament opts to take the players and in the case one caddy back to the tee and then they walk the hole. For all those amateur golfers out there, Danielson played the tournament without a caddy – carrying her own bag over the 3 days. She didn’t even use a pull cart.

The 18^th at River Run is a roughly 500-yard par 5 water hole, with the challenge of determining whether to hit your second ball as a layup shot for a relatively short third shot across the water to the green. Only a few golfers, and neither of those in the playoff, opted to go for the green in 2. In fact, both golfers looked like they were on automatic – hitting shots of their first playoff hole to roughly the same place in the fairway as their shots in regulation.

And when they finished playing hole #55, they were still tied. So, they loaded back up into golf carts to headed back to the 18^th tee. This time it looked like Danielson had a slightly better tee shot that the previous attempt. Fernandez Cano was right back into the same spot in the middle of the fairway. However, she didn’t hit her second shot the way she wanted and ended up in the left rough. Meanwhile, Danielson was in the middle of the fairway for her third shot.

And when they finished the 56^th hole of the 54-hole tournament, Casey Danielson was the winner. She parred the hole, while Fernandez Cano bogeyed on her third trip to the par-5.

The tournament was the sixth stop on the Symetra Tour – and had a total purse of $175,000, with Casey Danielson earning a check for $26,250. This week the players are in Florida for the IOA Golf Classic at the Alaqua Country Club in Longwood. The defending champion is Laura Wearn, a Charlotte native – Charlotte Country Day graduate and Furman University alumna.

Lest you think that the Symetra Tour is local or regional golf, the international composition of the Symetra Tour is amazing. With the admissions office at Davidson College the possible lone exception, there is likely no other organization that brings a more international draw to Davidson. The following is the pairing list/tee times for Friday’s initial round of golf for the 144 players. Note: the tournament pared down to 64-golfers for the final round of play on Sunday.

Hopefully next year, COVID will be a distant memory and more fans can head over to River Run to watch some great golf when the Symetra Classic comes to town. And if you are interested in getting more involved, consider being a volunteer or a host family.

Check out some of the News of Davidson photos from the Symetra Classic on our NewsofDavidson.photos website. 

 

Friday Pairings (groups started from the 1^st and 10^th tees on Friday & Saturday)

7:30 a.m.

Kim Kaufman – Clark, SD

Nichole Autrique – Cuauhtemoc, Mexico

Min Lee – Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei

 

Sarah White – Grand Rapids, MI

Sarah Hoffman – Saline, MI

Jean Reynolds – Newnan, GA

 

7:41 a.m.

Delfina Acosta – Cte. N Otamendi, Argentina

Anna Redding – Concord, NC

Amanda Hollandsworth – Floyd, VA

 

Jessy Tang – Orlando, FL

Krystal Quihuis – Tucson, AZ

Yue Ren – Guangdong, China

 

7:52 a.m.

Louise Stahle – Lund, Sweden

Janet Mao – Johns Creek, GA

Becca Huffer – Denver, CO

 

Shasta Averyhardt – Flint, MI

Amanda Kim – O’Fallon, MO

Kristy McPherson – Conway, SC

 

8:03 a.m.

Maddie McCrary – Wylie, TX

Yan Liu – Fujian, China

Kum-Kang Park – Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

 

Elaine Wood – Spanish Fort, AL

Tzu-Chi Lin – Taichung, Chinese Taipei

Kristin Coleman – Rolling Hills Estates, CA

 

8:14 a.m.

Allie White – Lancaster, OH

Laetitia Beck – Caesarea, Israel

Peiyun Chien – Pingtung, Chinese-Taipei

 

Sophie Hausmann – Nottuln, Germany

Yaeeun Hong – Seoul, Republic of Korea

Nannette Hill – Jupiter, FL

 

8:25 a.m.

Celine Borge – Tonsberg, Norway

Robyn Choi – Gold Coast, Australia

Maude-Aimee Leblanc – Sherbrooke, Quebec

 

Beth Wu – Diamond Bar, CA

Casey Danielson – Osceola, WI (Tournament Champion)

Julie Aime – Nice, France

 

 

8:36 a.m

Brittany Marchand – Orangeville, Ontario

Min-G Kim – Cheongju, Republic of Korea

Bailey Tardy – Norcross, GA

 

Kendra Dalton – Poughquag, NY

Katelyn Dambaugh – Atlanta, GA

Demi Runas – Torrance, CA

 

8:47 a.m.

Lucy Li – Redwood Shores, CA

Ruixin Lui – Guangdong, China

Lilia Vu – Fountain Valley, CA

 

Janie Jackson – Huntsville, AL

Amanda Doherty – Atlanta, GA

Samantha Wagner – Windermere, FL

 

8:58 a.m.

Nuria Iturrioz – Son Servera, Spain

Samantha Troyanovich – Grosse Pointe, MI

Elise Bradley – Mandeville, LA

 

Julienne Soo – Melbourne, Australia

Csicsi Rozsa – Budapest, Hungary

Samantha Richdale – Kelowna, British Columbia

 

9:09 a.m.

Paola Pavon – Tijuana, Mexico

Kris Tamulis – Naples, FL

Daniela Darquea – Quito, Ecuador

 

Christyn Carr (a) – Duluth, GA

Amy Lee – Brea, CA

Sandy Choi – Seoul, Republic of Korea

 

9:20 a.m.

Soo Jin Lee – Carlingford, Australia

Savannah Vilaubi – Downey, CA

Lakareber Abe – The Woodlands, TX

 

Karah Sanford – Sevierville, TN

Cindy Ha – Demarest, NJ

Sierra Sims – Tampa, FL

 

9:31 a.m.

Alexandra Kaui – Kapolei, NV

Karolina Vickova – Kladno, Czech Republic

Mia Landegren – Stockholm, Sweden

 

Louise Ridderstrom – Stocksund, Sweden

Michaela Finn – Brastad, Sweden

Lisa Pettersson – Taby, Sweden

 

12:30 p.m.

Vicky Hurst – Melbourne, FL

Marissa Steen – West Chester, OH

Weiwei Zhang – Hainan, China

 

Stephani Na – Adelaide, Australia

Jamie Huo – Auburn, WA

Jenny Lee – Van Nuys, CA

 

12:41 p.m.

Laura Restrepo – Panama City, Panama

Michelle Piyapattra – Eastvale, CA

Linnea Johansson – Bastad, Sweden

 

Elizabeth Schultz – Walnut Creek, CA

Chorphaka Jaengkit – Bangkok, Thailand

Selena Costabile – Thornhill, Ontario

 

12:52 p.m.

Alivia Reynolds – Gig Harbor, WA

Nicole Sakamoto – Honolulu, HI

Min A. Yoon – Seoul, Republic of Korea

 

Prima Thammaraks – Bangkok, Thailand

Jacqui Concolino – Orlando, FL

Min Seo Kwak – Seoul, Republic of Korea

 

1:03 p.m.

Ana Belac – Portoroz, Slovenia

Frida Kinhult – Fiskebackskil, Sweden

Allison Emrey – Charlotte, NC

 

Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras – Roi-Et, Thailand

Gabriela Ruffels – Melbourne, Australia

Moa Folke – Tranas, Sweden

 

1:14 p.m

Isi Gabsa – Munich, Germany

Gigi Stoll – Beaverton, OR

Hexi Yuan – Hainan, China

 

Meghan MacLaren – Wellingborough, England

Fatima Fernandez Cano – Santiago, Spain

Kyung Kim – Chandler, AZ

 

1:25 p.m.

Maria Parra – Guadiaro, Spain

Morgane Metraux – Lausanne, Switzerland

Haylee Rae Harford – Leavittsburg, OH

 

Sophia Schubert – Oak Ridge, TN

Ingrid Gutierrez Nunez – Cuautia, Mexico

Dottie Ardina – Laguna, Philippines

 

1:36 p.m.

Regina Plasencia – Guadalajara, Mexico

Marta Sanz Barrio – Madrid, Spain

Katie Yoo – Orlando, FL

 

Laura Wearn – Charlotte, NC

Sierra Brooks – Orlando, FL

Daniella Iacobelli – Melbourne, FL

 

1:47 p.m.

Gabby Lemieux – Caldwell, ID

Roberta Liti – Siena, Italy

Elin Arvidsson – Falkenberg, Sweden

 

Dewi Weber – Groningen, Netherlands

Rachel Rohanna – Marianna, PA

Karen Chung – Livingston, NJ

 

1:58 p.m.

Alazne Urizar Zapata – San Tome, Venezuela

Alejandra Llaneza – Mexico City, Mexico

Lee Lopez – Whittier, CA

 

Sharmila Nicollet – Bangalore, India

Amy Matsuoka – Newport Beach, CA

August Kim – St. Augustine, FL

 

2:09 p.m.

Leslie Cloots – Antwerp, Belgium

Olivia Benzin – Toronto, Ontario

Ashli Bunch – Morristown, TN

 

Jessica Welch – Thomasville, GA

Emilee Hoffman – Folsom, CA

Ji Eun Baik – Cumming, GA

 

2:20 p.m.

Hira Naveed – Perth, Australia

Rebecca Lee-Bentham – Toronto, Ontario

Karoline Stormo – Tvedestrand, Norway

 

Laura Gonzalez Escallon – Brussels, Belgium

Clariss Guce – Artesia, CA

Ana Ruiz Laphond – Chihuahua, Mexico

2:31 p.m.

Marta Martin – Madrid, Spain

Lindsey McCurdy – Liberty Hill, TX

Maddie Szeryk – London, Ontario

 

Cheyenne Woods – Phoenix, AZ

Lori Beth Adams – Burlington, NC

Carley Cox – China Grove, NC