Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois Women's Golf team concluded their participation at The Velvet Classic in Paducah, Kentucky, on Tuesday, finishing sixth with a score of +76 on 940 strokes.

The Salukis began the tournament in tenth place after a slow start in the first round but improved significantly to finish third in both the second and third rounds. This performance propelled them to sixth place overall. Head Coach Rory Weinfurther attributed this turnaround to the team's strategic approach.

"I think in our second and third rounds we started to get a better feel of where to place the ball and hit shots and better reading around the greens," Weinfurther said. "I told the girls to keep adapting and paying attention to speed and placement, and I think they really got it those last two rounds."

The individual performances of the Saluki golfers were as follows:

- Kayla Sayyalinh: 9th, 229 (+13)

- Pihla Pennanen: T-21st, 236 (+20)

- Calli Smith: T-26th, 237 (+21)

- Kylee Vaughan: T-37th, 243 (+27)

- Morgan Gindler: T-41st, 244 (+28)

- Amelia Zingler: T-71st, 254 (+38)

Sayyalinh achieved the team's first top-10 finish of the season. Coach Weinfurther expressed his admiration for her performance.

"Kayla's top 10 was amazing; she hit the ball well and gave herself really good looks and had several go in," Weinfurther said. "She was very consistent and calm throughout the rounds and was receptive to changes on the course throughout the day."

The Salukis will take a week off before competing at the Diane Thomason Invite in Iowa City on Monday, September 30.

For further updates on Southern Illinois Women's Golf team activities, follow them on X (@SIU_WGolf), Facebook (@Saluki Women's Golf), and Instagram (@siu_wgolf).