LEXINGTON, Ky. — The LSU Tigers again found trouble in all the wrong places Saturday as they were unable to get out of 12th place after two rounds of the Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Championships being played at the University Club of Kentucky.
LSU recorded 15 scores of double bogey or worse on the round as the Tigers posted a 38-over par score of 326 to stand at 650, 74-over par.
The problems were especially frustrating for freshman Vicky Meyer who was going along at two under for her round for the first seven holes, before the swirling winds on the island green eighth holes cost her two shots in the water. On the ninth hole, she was forced to take another double bogey when her ball buried in the lip of a sand trap.
Brooke Shelton did have a strong round for LSU, going along in a 3-over par 75 on the par 72-hole course with just four bogeys on her card. For Shelton it was an eight-stroke improvement from her first round and she stands at 14-over 158, good enough for a tie for 35th place. Meyer fell back to a tie for 40th place after her 83 in the second round left her at 15-over 159.
In the team competition, first round leader and defending champion South Carolina dropped from first to fourth after a 20-over par second round of 308, while Tennessee moved into the lead with a two-day total of 15-over par 591 (291-300). The Lady Vols have a two-shot lead over Florida at 17-over 593. Auburn remains in the hunt at 596 and South Carolina’s fourth place total is 603.
After two rounds, the individual title is up for grabs between the SEC Player of the Year who is the two-time defending champion and the SEC Freshman of the Year. Kristy McPherson of South Carolina, the Player of the Year, posted a 71 to keep the lead after 36 holes with a five-under par 139 (68-71). The SEC Freshman of the Year, Violeta Retamoza of Tennessee, has shot back-to-back rounds of 70 to stand at four-under 140. It is five strokes back to Aimee Cho of Florida at one-over.
The final round is set to begin at 8 a.m. Sunday morning but there is a 50 percent chance of rain in the forecast for Easter Sunday in the state of Kentucky, so Tennessee and McPherson would be the winners if the round is unable to be finished.
SEC Women’s Golf Championships
Team Results (Par 288-576)
1. Tennessee 291-300 — 591 +15
2. Florida 296-297 — 593 +17
3. Auburn 299-297 — 596 +20
4. South Carolina 295-308 — 603 +27
5. Vanderbilt 306-301 — 607 +31
6. Georgia 299-311 — 610 +34
7. Arkansas 297-316 — 613 +37
8. Kentucky 309-311 — 620 +44
9. Mississippi State 317-311 — 628 +52
10. Ole Miss 319-322 — 641 +65
11. Alabama 318-329 — 647 +71
12. LSU 324-326 — 650 +74
Individual Top 5 (Par 72-144)
1. Kristy McPherson, USC 68-71 — 139 -5
2. Violeta Retamoza, Tenn 70-70 — 140 -4
3. Aimee Cho, Florida 72-73 — 145 +1
4. Sofie Andersson, Miss. St. 73-73 — 146 +2
4. Lina Axelsson, Arkansas 70-76 — 146 +2
4. Mary Jan Fernandez, Tenn. 71-75 — 146 +2
LSU Scores
T35. Brooke Shelton 83-75 — 158 +14
T40. Vicky Meyer 76-83 — 159 +15
45. Devon Day 81-81 — 162 +18
T56. Isabel Dornellas 84-87 — 171 +27
60. Rachel Overstreet 95-90 — 185 +41