PALO ALTO, Calif. – For the second straight day, the LSU women’s golf team moved up in the standings to finish in 13th place in the inaugural Pac-10-SEC Challenge which concluded Sunday in the rain at the Stanford University Golf Club.
LSU moved up from 17th on the final day with a final round of 14-over par 298 to finish at 55-over par 907 (316-293-298) as the team, playing without Megan McChrystal and Tessa Teachman, showed its mettle after the difficult opening round to play the last two rounds in a combined 23-over par.
The tournament marks the final event of the fall season that was a definitely success for the team that has been ranked No. 1 for much of the last month in the performance standings put out by Sagarin and Golfstat after a fall season that had a tournament win and two seconds against strong competition.
Freshman Austin Ernst had the best round of the final day of even par 71 as she played the final two rounds in three over par to move from a tie to 68th to a tie for 34th in the final individual standings at 11-over par 224 (79-74-71).
On the final day, LSU also counted a 74 from senior Amalie Valle, a 76 from senior Lindy LaBauve and a 77 from sophomore Mary Michael Maggio.
The Pac-10 ended up with three of the top five teams in the final standings as UCLA went wire-to-wire to get the win at four-over 856 (285-281-290), 11 shots better than Alabama of the SEC at 867 (289-286-292). Southern California took third at 23-over 875, with Arizona fourth and Auburn fifth.
The individual title went to Sophia Povov of Southern California who posted a four-under 67 on the final day to finish at six-under 207, one shot better than Stephanie Kono of UCLA who shot a final round 68 to finish at five-under 208. Cydney Clanton of Auburn was the top SEC finisher, taking third at 209.
Pac-10-SEC Challenge
Palo Alto, Calif.
Final Team Results – Par 284-852
1. UCLA 285-281-290 – 856 +4; 2. Alabama 289-286-292 – 867 +15; 3. Southern California 294-291-290 – 875 +23; 4. Arizona 286-292-299 – 877 +25; 5. Auburn 286-289-304 – 879 +27; 6. Stanford 293-289-300 – 882 +30; 6. Georgia 293-293-296 – 882 +30; 8. Tennessee 291-293-302 – 886 +34; 9. Washington 287-295-308 – 890 +38; 9. California 290-291-309 – 890 +38; 11. Arkansas 288-296-307 – 891 +39; 12. Vanderbilt 291-302-304 – 897 +45; 13. LSU 316-293-298 – 907 +55; 14. Oregon 307-306-298 – 911 +59; 15. South Carolina 299-303-310 – 912; 15. Mississippi 300-299-313 – 912 +60; 17. Kentucky 295-308-320 – 923 +71; 18. Florida 309-298-317 – 924 +72; 19. Oregon State 320-304-305 – 929 +77; 20. Mississippi State 319-306-316 – 941 +89; 21. Washington State 315-310-322 – 947 +95.
Final Individual Top 5 (Par 71-213)
1. Sophia Popov, Southern California, 72-68-67 – 207 -6; 2. Stephanie Kono, UCLA 73-67-68 – 208 -5; 3. Cydney Clanton, Auburn, 68-69-72 – 209 -4; 4. Marta Silva Zamora, Georgia, 69-70-72 – 211 -2; 5. Joanne Lee, California, 65-73-74 – 212 -1.
LSU Scores
T34. Austin Ernst 79-74-71 – 224 +11
T38. Mary Michael Maggio 77-71-77 – 225 +12
T65. Jacqueline Hedwall 82-71-78 – 231 +18
T73. Amalie Valle 81-77-74 – 232 +19
T73. Lindy LaBauve 79-77-76 – 232 +19