MIAMI, Fla. — In a close finish atop the 47th annual Pat Bradley Invitational Leaderboard, the High Point University women's golf team placed third to wrap the two-day, 54-hole event on the Trump National Doral Miami Red Tiger course on Tuesday afternoon.

The Panthers (+24) finished one stroke behind the University of South Florida (+23) and four of Florida Atlantic University (+20), while topping host Florida International University (+31), Florida Gulf Coast (+34), Stetson (+41), Cincinnati (+42), and others.

High Point was led by Makayla Grubb for the second straight week with a career-best T3 finish for her second top-5 placement as Anna Howerton carded her second top-10 finish this season.
 
Head Coach Lyndsey Hunnell: "It was a grind out there this week. We haven't faced a course like this in a while with strong winds and trouble on every hole, but I'm proud of the growth I saw. We have a young team this year with two freshmen in the lineup, so Monday being their first 36-hole day, I knew would be a new challenge for them. This may not have been our strongest performance, but it's encouraging to see we're still competitive for the podium."
 
Site: Miami, Fla.
Course: Trump National Doral Miami – Red Tiger
Par/Yardage: 72/6002
 
HPU Top Finisher: Makayla Grubb (T3)  —  73, 75, 70 (211) +2
HPU Team Finish: 3 of 12 teams — 296, 298, 294 (888) +24
 
Panther Placement:
T3 Makayla Grubb +2 (73, 75, 70) 218
T8 Anna Howerton +4 (71, 75, 74) 220
T20 Ella Perna +7 (77, 72, 74) 223
T28 Eva Lye +11 (75, 76, 76) 227
T35 Anais Arafi +15 (77, 78, 76) 231

Individual
T23 Savannah Cherry +8 (73, 73, 78) 224
 
Makayla Grubb has strengthened her play each week and that mirrored in the Sunshine State. In the freshman's first 36-hole day on Monday, she carded rounds of 73 and 75 before shooting low with a 2-under-par 70 in round three to propel her into the top three. Grubb had a tournament-best 11 birdies for her best collegiate leaderboard finish.

Powered by her 1-under-par 71 opening round, Anna Howerton played her way back into the top-10. The junior shot 4-under on par-5 holes and sunk seven birdies for a 4-over-par outing for T8.

Ella Perna secured her second top-20 finish this season as her best round came in the second half of the 36-hole day. The senior's even-par 72 in round two carried her into the top-20 as she penciled in five birdies and had team-best 33 pars.

Freshman Eva Lye played through her first 36-hole day on Monday, carding a 7-over before finishing the event with a 76. She sunk six birdies to finish T28. Anais Arafi saw her best round come on Tuesday, carding 76 as well as five birdies throughout the 54 holes to place T35.

Competing as an individual for the second straight tournament, Savannah Cherry had a solid 36-hole day as she shot a pair of 1-over-par 73s to help her finish T23.
 
Up Next: The Panthers had to East Carolina's Pirate Collegiate Classic next week for fall break Monday, Oct. 6 through Tuesday, Oct. 7 in Greenville, N.C.