CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 1-ranked LSU women’s golf team shot a second consecutive 3-under par round of 285 and stands in third place in the 18-team Tar Heel Invitational after 36 holes Saturday over the UNC Finley Golf Course.
Senior All-American Megan McChrystal posted an even par round of 72 on Saturday to stand at 5-under par 139, five shots out of the individual lead entering Sunday’s final round.
Alabama, ranked third, posted 12 birdies and just two bogeys on the final nine holes as part of a 14-under round of 274 to open a big lead at 25-under par 551 (277-274). Duke is second at 566 (288-278, 10-under) and LSU is four shots back at 6-under par 570 after back-to-back rounds of 285. The Lady Tigers have an eight-shot advantage over fourth-place North Carolina.
The Lady Tigers are now 8-of-8 this year in firing under-par rounds this season. Through two rounds, the tournament average is just over 74 strokes a round (74.07).
McChrystal, who birdied five of the final 13 holes Friday in the opening round 67, needed a birdie on the 16th hole to get to even par for the round. She is in a group of four players tied for fifth in the competition. Brooke Pancake of Alabama is the leader at 10-under par 134 (65-69).
Junior Tessa Teachman paced LSU on the second day with a 2-under par 70 as freshman Austin Ernst fired her first under-par collegiate round with a 1-under 71. Mary Michael Maggio rounded out the scoring with an even par 72.
Again, the Lady Tigers were able to combine four good counting score together to keep their under par string of rounds moving forward.
The top three teams, which seem to have separated themselves from the rest of the field – Alabama, Duke and LSU – will play together in the final round shotgun format that is set to begin at 8:15 a.m. CDT Sunday. Live scoring will be available at LSUsports.net through Golfstat.com.
Tar Heel Invitational
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Second Round Team Results (Par 288-576)
1. Alabama 277-274 – 551 -25; 2. Duke 288-278 – 566 -10; 3. LSU285-285 – 578 -6; 4. North Carolina 294-284 – 578 +2; 5. Virginia 290-289 – 579 +3; 5. Wake Forest 291-288 – 579 +3; 7. Auburn 293-288 – 581 +5; 7. Michigan State 289-292 – 581 +5; 9. Georgia 295-288 — 583 +7; 9. Texas A&M 292-291 – 583 +7; 11. Tulane 289-296 – 585 +9; 11. Vanderbilt 298-287 – 585 +9; 13. South Carolina 291-297 – 588 +12; 14. Florida 288-301 – 591 +13; 15. Florida State 299-292 – 591 +15; 16. Louisville 301-291 – 592 +16; 17. Denver 299-295 – 594 +18; 18. North Carolina State 302-303 – 605 +29.
Individual Top 5 (Par 72-144)
1. Brooke Pancake, Alabama, 65-69 – 134 -10; 2. Camilla Lennarth, Alabama, 69-67 – 136 -8; 3. Brittany Altomare, Virginia, 68-69 – 137 -7; 4. Laetitia Beck, Duke, 71-67 – 138 -6; 5. Sara-Maude Juneau, Louisville, 70-69 – 139 -5; 5. Jennifer Kirby, Alabama, 71-68 – 139 -5; 5. Catherine O’Donnell, North Carolina, 71-68 – 139 -5; 5. Megan McChrystal, LSU, 67-72 – 139 -5.
LSU Scores
T5. Megan McChrystal 67-72 – 139 -5
T18. Austin Ernst 72-71 – 143 -1
T22. Mary Michael Maggio 72-72 – 144 E
T31. Tessa Teachman 75-70 – 145 +1
T50. Jacqueline Hedwall 74-74 – 148 +4