LSU, Auburn Assume Lead at Tiger-Wave Classic
NEW ORLEANS – It’s 20th-ranked LSU and 8th-ranked Auburn at the top in both the team and individual competition after a most windy second day of the 54-hole 2010 Tiger/Wave Golf Classic co-hosted by the LSU and Tulane women’s golf programs at English Turn Golf and Country Club.
Individually, Auburn’s Cydney Clanton and LSU’s Megan McChrystal share the individual lead, both completing the second day with a total score of even par 144.
Auburn shot an 8-over par 296 on the day to surge into the lead after sitting in a tie for eighth-place after Friday’s opening round. The Tigers’ score was the best of a day when winds rivaled some of the days when the pros played the course in its days as the host of the New Orleans Open.
“From the first hole the pins were bending because of the wind,” Auburn head coach Kim Evans said. “I could not be more proud of our team for what they did in these conditions. For one, we did not feel like we had a good day yesterday and we felt like we got off to a pretty slow start. We were just determined, no matter what, to get back in it and post a good score today and we did.”
LSU, the 20th ranked team, moved into the tie with a 307 in Saturday’s second round. The Lady Tigers ended the opening round one shot behind first-place Alabama.
Both LSU and Auburn sit at 25-over par 601.
“It played tough out there (Saturday), I’m not going to lie,” LSU head coach Karen Bahnsen said. “It was one of those days to see who could have the least amount of big holes. We had our fair share, everyone did. I have to hand it to Auburn and TCU. They played some really great rounds today in this weather. We kind of settled in there and made mistakes early and did not let it get to us. We stayed patient and gave ourselves shots and gave ourselves a chance and we hung in there.”
TCU posted the second best team score of the day, shooting a 10-over par 298 in the second round to sit in third-place, two shots behind the leaders. Alabama, which held the lead after the opening round, shot a 26-over par 314 to sit in fourth-place with a team score of +31. Those four teams will play together in the shotgun start final round on Sunday.
Clanton, the nation’s top ranked player, posted a one-under par 71 on Saturday to move even for the tournament. She posted five birdies in the round, including two in the final four holes. McChrystal shot an even par 72 each day to share the lead after 36 holes. She posted three birdies, including one on the par four 16th hole on Saturday.
On the windy day when the average score was 80.75, six players shot even par or better in the round, including the two leaders. TCU’s Rachel Raastad also posted a 1-under par, while Virginia’s Calle Nielson, North Carolina’s Sarah Thread and Auburn’s Haley Wilson shot even par. Nielson was the most unlucky, having to take a penalty stroke on the 18th hole with the individual lead at that point when her shot from the edge of the fairway bunker bounced back off a lip and hit her. She posted a triple-bogey seven on the final hole. She still sits in a third-place tie with yesterday’s co-leader Tessa Teachman from LSU at one-over par. Teachman had a 75 on Saturday.
The 23-team classic concludes tomorrow at English Turn Golf and Country Club at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. Live scoring is available through LSUsports.net at Golfstat.com.
Tiger-Wave Golf Classic
English Turn – New Orleans, La.
Second Round Team Results (Par 288-576)
1. Auburn 305-296 – 601 +25; 1. LSU 294-307 – 601 +25; 3. TCU 305-298 – 603 +27; 4. Alabama 293-314 – 607 +31; 5. Virginia 296-315 – 611 +35; 6. North Carolina 302-312 – 614 +38; 7. Tennessee 305-311 – 616 +40; 8. Georgia 307-313 – 620 +44; 9. Ole Miss 300-321 – 621 +45; 10. Notre Dame 310-314 – 624 +48; 11. North Carolina state 306-319 – 625 +49; 12. Vanderbilt 303-325 – 628 +52; 13. Wake Forest 314-315 – 629 +53; 14. Purdue 303-327 – 630 +54; 14. Arkansas 314-316 – 630 +54; 14. Louisville 313-317 – 630 +54; 17. Charleston 313-318 – 631 +55; 18. Tulane 305-327 – 632 +56; 19. Kentucky 308-326 – 634 +58; 20. Furman 305-334 – 639 +63; 21. NC Wilmington 322-324 – 646 +70; 21. UCF 321-325 – 646 +70; 23. Mississippi State 320-331 – 651 +75.
Top 10 Individuals (Par72-144)
1. Cydney Clanton, Auburn, 73-71 – 144 E; 1. Megan McChrystal, LSU, 72-72 – 144 E; 3. Callie Nielson, Virginia, 73-72 – 145 +1; 3. Tessa Teachman, LSU, 70-75 – 145 +1; 5. Camilla Lennarth, Alabama, 72-75 – 147 +3; 6. Becca Huffer, Notre Dame, 72-76 – 148 +4; 6. Sarah Thead, North Carolina, 76-72 – 148 +4; 8. Rachel Raastad, TCU, 78-71 – 149 +5; 8. Jennifer Kirby, Alabama, 71-78 – 149 +5; 10. Haley Sanders, Ole Miss, 75-75 – 150 +6; 10. Haley Wilson, Auburn, 78-72 – 150 +6; 10. Louise Kristersson, TCU, 72-78 – 150 +6; 10. Catherine O’Donnell, North Carolina, 72-78 – 150 +6; 10. Brooke Pancake, Alabama, 70-80 – 150 +6.
LSU Scores
T1. Megan McChrystal 72-72 – 144 E
T3. Tessa Teachman 70-75 – 145 +1
T50. Amalie Valle 74-84 – 158 +14
T50. Jacqueline Hedwall 78-80 – 158 +14
T74. Abby Oberthier 81-80 – 161 +17
T84. Nicole Crochet 77-85 – 162 +18
Karan Bahnsen Video
Megan McChrystal Video