NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The LSU Lady Tigers are one round away from advancing to the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship after a second round score that leaves them tied for second after Friday’s play at the Warren Golf Course.
Three LSU golfers are in the top 11 in the individual standings as the Tigers try to advance in post-season play for the third time in four years.
On a tough day for the afternoon wave with gusty winds that made scoring difficult for the 12 top seeds, LSU totaled a 15-over par 303 on the second day to stand at 22-over par 598 and in a tie for second with Minnesota. The Gophers played in the morning wave and took advantage of favorable scoring conditions to shoot a nine-over round that leaves them at 22-over.
UCLA remains in the lead at 16-over 592 after shooting 13-over 301 on the second round. The difference between the Bruins and LSU and Minnesota is just six strokes.
While LSU is presently 12-strokes clear of the eighth and final qualifying position with one round to go, the mindset of the Lady Tigers is different entering Saturday’s play.
“It was tough out there (Friday),” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “There are some very difficult holes on this golf course and you have to stay mentally tough to be successful. But we are looking at the teams that are behind us. We want to catch UCLA and win this tournament. That’s going to be our mindset when we come out to the course on Saturday.”
Freshman Austin Ernst may have a mindset to capture her second tournament of the year after birdies on two of the final four holes to finish at even par 72, giving her a two-over 146 after 36 holes. That puts her in a tie for third place just two shots out of the individual lead of Emily Tubert of Arkansas at even par 144 (75-69). Ani Gulugian of UCLA, the first-round co-leader is second at 145 (71-74).
“I was just trying to control the ball a bit more,” said Ernst. “I feel like I have really good control on my ball right now with my irons and I just try to get it on the green. (Saturday) I want to do the same things I’ve been doing the past few days and hopefully get a few more putts to drop and see what happens.”
Megan McChrystal, who celebrated her birthday playing the second round, is also very much in contention in a tie for fifth at 3-over 147 (72-73) and Amalie Valle is in a group tied for 11th at five-over 149 (72-77) as the eighth-ranked and third-seeded Lady Tigers have put themselves in a strong position entering the final round. LSU also counted a 79 from Jacqueline Hedwall in the scoring Friday.
“The team just continued to keep fighting,” said Bahnsen. “The scores up there are pretty high, but I think it’s a great golf course and you just have to keep your composure and eliminate some mental mistakes.”
After UCLA, LSU and Minnesota are Notre Dame, Ohio State, Northwestern and Stanford with Arkansas in the eighth and final qualifying spot at 34-over par. Tulane is in a tie for 11th place, five shots back at 39-over. Maribel Lopez Porras had her second consecutive strong round of one-over 73 to stand in the group tied at three-over 147.
The top 12 teams will play first on Saturday and then wait and see if any of the afternoon wave can make a move to the top eight. The tee times begin at 7 a.m. CDT and LSU will tee off beginning at 8:06 a.m. Live scoring can be found on LSUsports.net through Golfstat.com.
LSU women’s golf can be followed on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUwomensgolf and on Twitter @LSUwomensgolf.
NCAA Central Regional
At Warren Golf Course – Notre Dame, Ind.
Second Round Team Results (Par 288-876)
1. UCLA 291-301 – 592 +16; 2. Minnesota 301-297 – 598 +22; 2. LSU 295-303 – 598 +22; 4. Notre Dame 298-305 – 603 +27; 5. Ohio State 306-301 – 607 +31; 6. Northwestern 302-306 – 608 +32; 6. Stanford 302-306 – 608 +32; 8. Arkansas 307-303 – 610 +34; 9. Chattanooga 307-303 – 610 +34; 10. Texas 306-307 – 613 +37; 11. Kent State 304-311 – 615 +39; 11. Tulane 313-302 – 615- 13. Duke 302-314 – 616 +40; 13. Wake Forest 312-304 – 616 +40; 15. Wisconsin 314-305 – 619; 16. Illinois 313-309 – 622 +46; 17. Michigan 316-307 – 623 +47; 18. Oklahoma State 312-312 – 624 +48; 19. North Texas 311-314 – 625 +49; 20. East Carolina 315-316 – 631 +55; 21. Butler 316-326 – 641 +65; 22. UNLV 318-325 – 643 +67; 23. Morehead State 319-326 – 645 +69; 24. Illinois State 329-317 – 646 +70.
Individual Top 5 (Par 72-144)
1. Emily Tubert, Arkansas 75-69 – 144 E; 2. Ani Guluugian, UCLA, 71-74 – 145 +1; 3. Austin Ernst, LSU, 74-72 – 146 +2; 3. Samantha Sommers, Minnesota, 73-73 – 146 +2; 5. Lindy Duncan, Duke, 75-72 – 147 +3; 5. Megan McChrystal LSU, 72-75 – 147 +3; 5. Maribel Lopez Porras, Tulane, 74-73 – 147 +3.
LSU Scores
T3. Austin Ernst 74-72 – 146 +2
T5. Megan McChrystal 72-75 – 147 +3
T11. Amalie Valle 72-77 – 149 +5
T58. Jacqueline Hedwall 77-79 – 156 +12
T106. Tessa Teachman 81-82 – 163 +19