SUNRIVER, Ore. The LSU women’s golf team survived a golfing roller-coaster here Friday to move up one more spot to 14th in the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships at the Crosswater Country Club.
The Tigers finished the third round with a 14-over par score of 302 and has a 54-hole total of 913, 49 over par.
But there was more to the third round than just a 14-over total. The Tigers turned the front nine at 11-over par and appeared to be dropping into the 20s in the 24-team standings. It was a front nine full of double bogeys and one quadruple bogey, with only three consecutive birdies by Kenner senior Lisette Lee keeping the total down.
The Lady Tigers, sixth ranked in the national polls, apparently saw the scoreboards and responded positively. Shreveport sophomore Meredith Duncan came up with birdies at the par 5 12th, the par 3 13th and the par 4 14th and would finish with a round of two-under par 70. The round would be one shot off the lowest round by an LSU golfer in the Championships, dating back to Barbara Van Strien’s 69 on the opening day of the 1988 event in Columbus, Ohio.
Duncan, who was 116th in the individual standings after the first day and 60th after the second round, moved up another 36 places to a tie for 24th position at eight-over par 224 (82-72-70).
In all, LSU would play the back nine in just three over par to get home to save a round that appeared to be heading for trouble from the beginning.
“We were sure wearing our rally caps on the back nine,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “That was an impressive performance on the back nine. The girls just fought it all the way. Meredith really came up big for us, but all the girls are to be commended for the way they fought through those final nine holes when it appeared we were in big trouble.”
Katy Wilkinson would post a four-over 76 for the Lady Tigers, with Tina Howard bringing home a 77. Lee would be the final counting score at seven-over 79.
Arizona is in total command of the team championship with one round to go after shooting a second straight sub-par round, this time a seven-under 281. The Wildcats are at 865, one over par as a team and Jenna Daniels and Julia Kraschinski of Arizona are both tied for the individual lead at six-under par. Daniels had a four-under 68 on her round and Kraschinski had a two-under 70.
LSU will be needing to make up just five shots to make it three consecutive top 10 finishes. LSU was fifth in 1998 and 10th in 1999.
The final round Saturday will be taped by ESPN2 and shown at 9 a.m. CDT on Sunday morning.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS AT SUNRIVER, Ore. CROSSWATER COUNTRY CLUB
Team Results (Par 288 864)
1. Arizona 299-285-281 865 +1; 2. Southern California 305-291-297 893 +29; 3. Texas 296-308-291 895 +31; 3. Oregon 295-303-297 895 +31; 3. Georgia 296-303-296 895 +31; 6. Stanford 301-298-297 896 +32; 7. Duke 303-299-296 898 +34; 8. Auburn 302-302-300 904 +40; 9. Tennessee 301-298-306 905 +41; 10. Purdue 298-303-307 908 +44; 11. TCU 311-296-302 909 +45; 12. Pepperdine 302-312-296 910 +46; 13. New Mexico State 304-312-295 — 911 +47; 14. LSU 313-298-302 913 +49; 15. San Jose State 308-302-306 916 +52; 16. Arizona State 315-305-297 917 +53; 16. Wake Forest 308-305-304 917 +53; 18. Tulsa 307-301-311 919 +55; 19 Florida 306-315-299 920 +56; 20. Ohio State 298-310-314 922 +58; 21. Nebraska 310-311-302 923 +59; 22. Michigan State 303-310-314 927 +63; 23. Oklahoma 308-314-308 930 +66; 24. Northwestern 313-317-306 936 +72.
Top 5 Individuals (Par 72-216)
1. Jenna Daniels, Arizona, 73-69-68 210 -6; 1. Julia Kraschinski, Arizona, 73-67-70 210 -6; 3. Laura Henderson, Georgia, 74-71-72 217 +1; 3. Danielle Downey, Auburn, 71-74-72 217 +1; 3. Stacy Prammanasudh, Tulsa, 69-76-72 217 +1.
LSU Scores
t24. Meredith Duncan 82-72-70 224 +8
t71. Lisette Lee 77-75-79 231 +15
t71. Tina Howard 78-76-77 231 +15
t80. Katy Wilkinson 78-79-76 233 +17
t94. Lindy Hitdlebaugh 80-75-81 236 +20