DIKE—Holing a 20-foot putt to cap a birdie-birdie finish, Central College's Delaney Underwood (senior, Mitchellville, Colfax-Mingo HS) scorched Dike's Fox Ridge Golf Course Sunday with a school-record 3-under-par 69 to take medalist honors at the 36-hole Norse-Kohawk Invitational.
           
Underwood topped her career-best score by five shots and broke the 2008 18-hole school record of 71 carded by all-American Sarah Paulson on the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls.
           
Underwood finished at 76-69—145 for a 4-shot victory over Grinnell College's Mary Li, who tied Central's Thea Lunning (senior, Mason City) but won a tiebreaker. Lunning shot 75-74—149.
           
Central also broke its own 18-hole and 36-hole team records, shooting 309-295—604, but finished second behind Grinnell College's 308-294—602. Mount Mercy University was a distant third in the 15-team field at 313-316—629.
           
Central's previous 18-hole best was a 304 at the Prairie Links Golf Course in Waverly last fall, while the Dutch established the 36-hole mark of 620 a year ago at the Fox Ridge course.
           
Underwood played the front nine in even-par 36, before surging to a 3-under-par back nine, capped by her dramatic putt on No. 18.
           
"I was with Delaney on the last hole," coach Tabitha Schumacher said. "You could tell she knew she was playing really well and she was very nervous. She was taking tons of dep breaths. She said, 'I just need to stop shaking.' Then she drained a 20-footer."
           
Underwood hit 15 greens and played bogey-free golf.
           
"She hit a lot of greens and played really smart," Schumacher said. "She putted fairly well and hit a couple of key par putts. It was a great round."
           
Meanwhile, Lunning opened with a pair of double bogeys, then shot 2-under par over the final 16 holes. Mackenzie Biggs (junior, Bloomington, Ill., Normal HS) shared fourth at 77-76—153, Peyton Bytnar (junior, Bettendorf) tied for 10th at 81-76--157 and Madison Clark (senior, Bloomington, Ill., Central Catholic HS) tied for 19th at 82-78—160.
           
Next Saturday and Sunday the Dutch are at the Wartburg Fall Invitational at the par-72 Prairie Links Golf Course in Waverly. Central was eighth out of 16 teams there last year. Several Minnesota schools are in the field, including some of the top Division III squads in the region, providing Central with a good early measuring stick of its progress.
           
"It will just be nice to see how we stack up against them," Schumacher said.