GLEN ALLEN, Va. – Four program records fell on Tuesday, as first-year
Toral Bhatt tied for first at the Stith Invitational, while all five Washington and Lee women's golfers placed inside the Top 25 en route to a runner-up team finish.
COURSE STATS:
- The Dominion Club | Glen Allen, Va.
- Par 72 | 5,651 Yards
- Total Average Score: 81.53 (252 rounds)
- Round 1 Average Score: 82.43 (84 rounds)
- Round 2 Average Score: 80.54 (84 rounds)
- Round 3 Average Score: 81.63 (84 rounds)
FINAL TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL LEADERS:
- Bhatt and NYU's Shih Ting Tan tied for first atop the individual leaderboard with 54-hole scores of 1-over (217) apiece. Tan led entering the day, but shot 4-over (76), while Bhatt caught up with an even-par 72. Bhatt's total score (217) and score to par (+1) both set W&L women's golf 54-hole program records.
- Jiayi Fu (NYU) placed third at 2-over (218) after a 2-under (70) on Tuesday, with Mary Charles Davis (Huntingdon, +3) fourth and Berkeley Bundy (W&L, +4) and Sonia Hao (NYU, +4) tying for fifth.
- No. 3 NYU took the top spot on the team leaderboard after a 9-over (297) gave the Violets a 54-hole score of 15-over par (297-285-297—879). In second place with 54-hole program records for score (891) and score to par (+27) was the Generals. They were 10-over as a team on Tuesday, which was the third best score of the day.
- No. 2 Carnegie Mellon landed third on the team leaderboard with a 39-over score of 903, while No. 11 Randolph-Macon (914 | +50) and No. 24 Huntingdon (927 | +63) rounded out the Top 5.
W&L ROUND 3 PLAYER SUMMARIES:
- Bhatt was as consistent as could be in Tuesday's third-round, even-par 72 showing. After a birdie on 2 and a bogey on 3 to stay at even par, Bhatt rattled off 15 consecutive pars to close out her All-Tournament Team performance.
- Bundy was one stroke behind Bhatt for day and three back for the tournament to also claim All-Tournament honors. Bundy sank three birdies and was even on the front nine.
- First-year Mackenzie Cline placed 14th overall after a 2-over 74 on Tuesday got her to 10-over for the tournament. Cline was 1-over par on the front and back nines with three pars on the day.
- Senior Julia Haetzel factored into the team scoring for round three with a 7-over (79) to place 21st. She added 12 pars to her three-round total and was 3-over on the front nine.
- First-year Bella Scucchi rounded out the strong tournament for the Blue and White with an 18th-place finish after an 8-over (80) on Tuesday. She completed her first 54-hole collegiate event at 14-over par, with Tuesday's round highlighted by a birdie and a back-nine 2-over.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- As a team, the Generals finished Top 2 in par-3, par-4 and par-5 scoring. They had the best three-round scores on par 3s (3.22) and par 5s (4.87), with the second-best average on par 4s (4.27), trailing only NYU (4.16).
- W&L led the field in pars made (162), was second in birdies (38) and had the fewest bogeys (57) across the 54 holes of play.
- Cline topped the field in par-3 scoring for the tournament, finishing at even par. Scucchi was in a five-way tie for second in that category, just one shot behind Cline.
- Bundy tied Hao (NYU) for the best par-5 scoring average (4.67), with Bhatt in a four-way tie for third at 4.75, one stroke behind Bundy and Hao. Bhatt (4.03) and Bundy (4.17) were also among the leaders in par-4 average.
- Cline made 10 birdies, which tied for third most in the field, with nine birdies to Bundy's credit and eight for Bhatt. Bhatt also tied for second in pars (37), with Haetzel (35) tied for fifth.
PROGRAM RECORDS SUMMARY:
- The Generals' 54-hole score of 891 topped the previous record set at the 2022-23 ODAC Championship by 14 strokes. The program's previous 54-hole record for par scoring was 45-over, which the team improved upon by 18 strokes at this year's Stith.
- Prior to Tuesday's completion, there was a four-way tie atop the program's all-time leaderboard for 54-hole scoring at 220. Bhatt bettered that number, as well as the 54-hole score-to-par record, by three strokes.
UP NEXT:
The Generals have just under a month to train and prepare for the 2026 ODAC Championships. The three-day, 54-hole championship will commence on Sunday, April 26, at Williamsburg National (Jamestown Course) in Williamsburg, Va.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
