GREENVILLE, S.C. — Makayla Grubb's first collegiate medalist led the High Point University women's golf team to a runner-up finish at the Lady Paladin Invitational, which concluded on Sunday after three days of play.
Grubb shot the second-lowest 54-hole tournament score (202; -14) in program history, carding three under-par rounds to earn first place and win by four shots. The Panthers had three finish under par and in the top 10 as Eva Lye shot low in all three rounds to finish T8 (-5), while Anna Howerton carded two low rounds to earn 10th (-4).
As a team, HPU shot even or lower in all three rounds, including a tournament-best 9-under-par on Sunday, to earn second place and finish nine shots ahead of Xavier (-3). The Panthers finished 10 shots behind tournament winner Alabama (-22).
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Head Coach Lyndsey Hunnell: "I'm really proud of this group. All week they continued to stick to their game plans and never let a bad outcome discourage them. They showed that we can compete with high-level teams and make some noise. I know this is just the start for this team, and we still have a lot we can go home and build on, but I'm really proud of the way they competed this week. Makayla was incredible this week. I'm so proud of her for finally getting that first win off her back. She unlocked a new gear in her game this week, and I've been waiting for this part of her game to click. I knew that whenever it did, she was going to become an incredibly tough competitor. If she continues to have the mentality she worked so hard on this week, I really believe she's going to be a force to be reckoned with."
Lady Paladin Invitational details
Site: Greenville, S.C.
Course: Furman University Golf Course
Par/Yardage: 72/6,439
HPU top finisher: Makayla Grubb (1) — 67, 68, 67 (202) -14
HPU team finish: 2 of 12 teams — 285, 288, 279 (852) -12
Panther placement
1 Makayla Grubb -14 (67, 68, 67) 202
T8 Eva Lye -5 (71, 71, 69) 211
10 Anna Howerton -4 (71, 74, 67) 212
T50 Savannah Cherry +13 (76, 77, 76) 229
T58 Anais Arafi +16 (77, 75, 80) 232
Individual: T43 Francesca Pencelli +10 (77, 75, 74) 226
Record-setting performance from Grubb
Grubb displayed utter dominance at the Furman University Golf Course. She tied her collegiate low round twice, shooting 5-under-par 67 to start and finish the tournament with a 4-under 67 sandwiched in between. The sophomore set a new program record for the lowest 36-hole score (135) by four shots, besting the previous record (139) held by Howerton since 2024. Her 54-hole score (202) was one shot off Howerton's 201, which was set in 2023, to put her second all-time.
Grubb led the tournament field with 18 birdies as she sunk three straight in round two, and then followed it up by making four consecutive birdies in a row during the final 18. She holed out her first eagle of the season in round one and led the tournament on par-4 holes (-6) and par-5 holes (-8).
Lye and Howerton add top-10 finishes
Lye finished top 10 for the second straight tournament, earning eighth for her best placement thus far after shooting under par over all three rounds. The sophomore shot back-to-back rounds of 1-under-par 71 before carding 3-under-par 69 in the final round.
On Sunday, she sunk three straight birdies to finish the front nine before making four more on holes 12 through 17. Lye was second among the tournament field on par-4 holes (-5) and fifth in birdies (14).
Howerton played to her first top-10 finish at the Lady Paladin Invitational. The senior moved eight spots up the leaderboard with her 5-under-par 67 in round three, which featured six of her 13 birdies, after rounds of 71 and 74. She sunk four birdies on the back nine to propel her into 10th place and shot a tournament seventh-best (-6) on par-5 holes.
Cherry, Arafi and Pencelli round out lineup
Savannah Cherry and Anais Arafi rounded out the starting lineup as Cherry had seven birdies and Arafi had five. Francesca Pencelli saw her first action in Purple & White, competing as an individual and making five birdies.
The Panthers travel to the Fighting Irish Classic, hosted by Notre Dame at The Warren Golf Club, Sept. 26-27 in Notre Dame, Ind.
