Fisher grabs medalist honors in a playoff while women’s golf grabs top three at Savannah Lakes Invitational
Fisher and Lee’s Hannah Nall would duke it out in a one-hole playoff, where she would win on the 18th hole while C-N recorded the lowest round of the day to jump three spots for third place.
MCCORMICK, S.C. – Fisher and Lee's Hannah Nall would duke it out in a one-hole playoff, where she would win on the 18th hole while C-N recorded the lowest round of the day to jump three spots for third place.
Fisher's day was smooth sailing to start. The junior birdied her first hole on the par four 5th and would make seven pars in a row before recording two more birdies on the 13th and 15th. She wouldn't let a bogey at the 16th stop her, and would grab another circle on the scorecard with a birdie at the 18th for a 34 (-2) on the back nine. She closed out the round with four pars to send the individual title race into a playoff.
"The playoff was very stressful. I was extremely grateful to be tied for first and in that position. I tried to stay focused on my game and not worry about what my opponent was doing, and it paid off," Fisher said.
It only took one hole to settle as the junior slammed the door on the 18th against Lee's Hannah Nall. She stuck her approach shot to six feet in the extra hole and lipped out her putt, but would close out the tournament regardless. Fisher is the first Eagle to win an individual title since Hannah Holland won the Music City Invitational on Halloween in 2023. The Savannah Lakes tournament marks the junior's first win of her career.
"It was a really great tournament and I really enjoyed the course. I thought I played some really solid golf, and am very happy to finally see all of my hard work pay off," said Fisher. "I'm very grateful to have the support of my amazing coaches and team. I am so excited to see what this season holds."
Coach Alyssa Montgomery was ecstatic for the returner.
"I am very proud of Emery for how she played. She had a tough break in the third round last week after sleeping on the lead. She kept her foot on the gas from start to finish, keeping her cool the entire day and sealing the deal on the first playoff," Montgomery said.
Grace Lambert also got off to a good start. Lamber birdied her second hole of the day (the par four 7th) and bogeyed just one hole on the back nine for a 37 (+1) on the back side of the scorecard. She would go on to record just one more bogey on the third hole for a 73 (+1) and a three-day total of +7. Lambert finished inside the top 15, tied for 12th.
Anaelle Picot also took advantage of the short 7th hole with a birdie to start the day. Moving into the back nine, the graduate student would bogey holes 10, 11, and 13 before getting back on track with a birdie on the 14th and finishing the back nine strong with a negative score on the 18th as well. After firing 38 (+2) on the back, Picot caught fire, birdying three of her last four holes for a final round of even par. Picot was +8 on the weekend and finished tied for 14th after gaining 14 spots on day three.
"Super happy with Grace and Anaelle for coming back today to both shoot great scores and get top 15 finishes as well," said Montgomery.
Rylee Tucker made six pars on the back nine and carded three bogeys to record a 39 (+3) coming in. She made just one bogey on the par four second hole to finish her day with a 76 (+4). Tucker was +16 across the two rounds and finished in a tie for 43rd.
Madison Miller had a challenging start to the day with a double bogey on the par-three 8th. Following three pars, Miller would go bogey-double on the 14th and 15th holes for a 40 (+4) on the back. Miller would clean it up in her last few holes, making five pars in her last seven to grab an 80 (+8) and finish 50th overall. The freshman was +20 over 36 holes.
"The whole team was needed this weekend to pull out a top-three finish against some great teams. They fought hard and it was well deserved," Montgomery said.
This finish for the Eagles is certain to help them down the line when the 2025-2026 rankings come out in October.
Carson-Newman women's golf will return to the course in two weeks' time when they head to the St. Simons Intercollegiate on October 6th and 7th.
