HANAHAN, S.C. — The 19th-ranked LSU women’s golf team made up 10 shots from round one to round two Monday to stand tied for the lead after 36 holes of the College of Charleston Cougar Classic at the Yeamans Hall Golf Course.
The Lady Tigers played under par golf over the final 27 holes of the two-round day, posting a two-under total over the final nine holes of the morning round, before blitzing the field with a four-under 284 in the afternoon round to complete the day at three-over par 579 for 36 holes. LSU was seven-over and in third after the first 18 holes as a team, nine shots behind North Carolina at two under 286.
But Carolina posted a five-over second round of 293 and also is at 579 after 36 holes. The Tigers and Tar Heels are three shots clear of Alabama, also under par in the second round with a 285. The Tide is at six-over 582 heading into Tuesday’s final round and those three teams will play together in the final wave.
The 284 round is the second best single round in the 28 years of women’s golf at LSU and the fifth time a four-person counting team under par score has been recorded by LSU. The only other single round better than that for the Lady Tigers came in 2001 at the University Club in the final round of the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic.
LSU’s 36-hole total of 579 is the third best by an LSU team after two rounds of play and the best ever for a day when the team had to play 36 holes. LSU posted a 583 after two rounds en route to winning the 2004 Cougar Classic on the same course.
“We came out a little unsure of ourselves early, but once we got going everyone contributed something to this team score during the day,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen, who will watch her team go for the 29th team title of her coaching career in the final round. “We continued to try to do the things we did last year at the end of the season and we were successful. We’ve been practicing very hard and really looked forward to the opportunity to play. Now we are in position and will see where we stand at the end of another 18 holes.”
LSU senior Melissa Eaton is also in prime position to compete for an individual title, in a group tied for third at two-under 142 after the first day of play. Eaton, who led the team in stroke average a year ago, posted rounds of 73-69 to stand just two shots out of the individual lead held by Whitney Brummett of Florida State and Lauren Hunt of North Carolina.
Junior Rebecca Kuhn, four over after nine holes in the first round, rallied with three straight birdies on the back nine to shoot one-over 73 and then came back with a one-under 71 and stands in a ninth place tie at even par 144. Alexis Rather also came back from a three-over 75 in the opening round to shoot two-under 70 in the afternoon 18 and is in a group tied for 11th at 145, one-over par.
While Nicola Eaton and Kim Meck both posted eight over totals of 152 on the day, but both provided crucial counting scores for LSU as Nicola Eaton had a two-over 74 in the first round and Meck posted a similar counting round in the afternoon session.
The final round gets underway at 8 a.m. CDT and live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com.
Cougar Classic
Team Results (Par 288-576)
1. LSU 295-284 — 579 +3; 2. North Carolina 286-293 — 579 +3; 3. Alabama 297-285 — 582 +6; 4. Tennessee 299-288 — 587 +11; 5. Florida State 297-291 — 588 +12; 5. Furman 292-296 — 588 +12; 7. Maryland 298-299 — 597 +21; 8. North Carolina State 305-294 — 599 +23; 8. South Florida 298-301 — 599 +23; 8. Charleston 302-297 — 599 +23; 11. Notre Dame 301-300 — 601 +25; 12. Campbell 301-304 — 605 +29; 13. Miami 306-308 — 614 +38; 14. North Carolina Greensboro 305-312 — 617 +41; 14. Georgia State 304-313 — 617 +41; 16. Mississippi State 314-306 — 620 +44; 17. Richmond 310-311 — 621 +45; 18. Kentucky 308-314 — 622 +46.
Individual Top 5 (Par 72-144)
1. Whitney Brummett, Florida State, 70-70 — 140 -4; 1. Lauren Hunt, North Carolina, 69-71 — 140 -4; 3. Melissa Eaton, LSU, 73-69 — 142 -2; 3. Alejandra Shaw, Campbell, 71-71 — 142 -2; 3. Sarah Sturm, Alabama, 73-69 — 142 -2; 3. Jenny Suh, Alabama, 74-68 — 142 -2; 3. Marci Turner, Tennessee, 75-67 — 142 -2.
LSU Scores
T3. Melissa Eaton 73-69 — 142 -2
T9. Rebecca Kuhn 73-71 — 144 E
T11. Alexis Rather 75-70 — 145 +1
T21. Nicola Eaton 74-78 — 152 +8
T21. Kim Meck 78-74 — 152 +8