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Nistrup Opens NCAA Lubbock Regional With 72

by Kent Lowe (@LSUkent)
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Nistrup Opens NCAA Lubbock Regional With 72

LUBBOCK, Texas – LSU senior Caroline Nistrup rolled in a long eagle putt from just off the green on the par five second hole to get her opening round of the NCAA Lubbock Regional jump started and finished the day with an even par round of 72.

Nistrup stands in a group T7 that is just four-shots off the lead of Lilia Vu of UCLA at 4-under 68 entering Tuesday’s second round of the 54-hole event.

Nistrup was off the green and just outside the fringe facing a lengthy putt that started uphill and then down to the hole. She was able to get the ball up to the hill with the right speed and it tumbled into the hole to get her in for three at the par 5, 496-yard hole on the Rawls Course at Texas Tech.

Nistrup would bogey the par 3 third and the par four fifth to go back to even, but a birdie on the eighth hole, a 409 yard par four had her turning in 1-under par.

The final nine at The Rawls is unique in that it starts with a par three, then five par 4s before closing with a par 3 and back-to-back par 5s on 17 and 18.

After three pars, Nistrup bogeyed 13, 14 and 15 to drop to 2-over, but then birdied the 185-yard 16th hole, parred No. 17 and posted a birdie 4 on the 528-yard closing hole to get in at 72.

The senior from Denmark, who was T12 in the 2015 NCAA Championships before a wrist injury stopped her 2015-16 season after just two events, has been playing her best golf of late with now seven of her last nine rounds at par or under.

To advance to the national championship individual tournament, Nistrup must finish in the top three of those players not advancing on the six qualifying teams for the championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois later in the month.

Only one player in the present standings would qualify in front of her if the tournament ended after one round and that would be Sophia Schubert of Texas at 1-under 71. Nistrup is tied with two other potential qualifiers whose teams are outside the top six – Julienne Soo of Oklahoma and Haylee Harford of Furman.

It was a windy day on The Rawls Course Monday and there is a 50 percent chance of rain on Tuesday for the second round. Nistrup is off again at 8:50 a.m., again off the 1st tee. Live scoring can be followed on Golfstat.com, NCAA.com and the Golfstat app.