HONOLULU, Hawaii — The LSU women’s golf team made a late second round rally Wednesday and moved up one spot to fourth and will play in the final grouping Thursday in the 16th annual Dr. Donnis Thompson Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
In the process, LSU senior Katy Harris moved up a spot as well from fourth to third in the individual competition. The Lady Tigers knocked three strokes off Tuesday’s first-round score, posting a 12-over 301 and stands at 29-over par 605 entering the final round.
The Lady Tigers took the place of first round leader Oregon State in the top four as the Beavers fell from first to fifth, one shot behind LSU at 30-over 606.Arizona, the two-time defending champion in the tournament, is the leader after a tournament best 6-over 294 round which gives the Wildcats a two-day total of 18-over 594. Arizona, ranked second in the national poll, is seven shots clear of Oklahoma State at 601 with Oklahoma at 604.
The Wildcats, Cowboys, Sooners and Tigers will be in the last groups on the course in the final round of the 54-hole event.
The foursome will include four of the five top 20 teams in the tourney with LSU ranked 12th, Oklahoma State 16th and Oklahoma 20th joining Arizona. Harris rallied late in her round, which began on the fourth hole in the shotgun start format, with two birdies in the final three holes to finish for the second straight day at 1-over par 73. That gives her a two-day total of 146, 2-over par for 36 holes. Harris shot 2-over 218 on a different course in finishing as the runner-up to teammate Ashley Winn in the 1998 edition of this tournament when she was a freshman.
The four top golfers will be in the last wave with leaders Natalie Gulbis of Arizona and Christi Cano of Oklahoma State, joining Harris in the final
group. Gulbis and Cano have shot back-to-back 1-under par 71s to stand four shots ahead of Harris at 2-under 142. Laura Myerscough of Arizona posted rounds of 75-71 to tie Harris for third at 2-over 146.
“We started slowly,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “The seventh hole which is a long par four over water was a real struggle and got us off on the wrong foot. But the team hung in there and showed some real determination to get the round back in shape. I’m very excited that we are going to play in the final group and that should lead to some more strong scores.”
Brazil freshman Isabella Dornellas posted a second-straight 4-over 76 for the Tigers, with Meredith Duncan and Lindy Hitdlebaugh both getting 5-over 77. But the most impressive comeback of the day may have belonged to senior Leslie McClurg who opened with two balls in the water on the two seventh hole water hazards, followed with a bogey on the par 3 eighth hole and settled in to post a 3-over 75.
Dornellas, in 16th place and Duncan, in 19th place, both stand in position to post top 20 finishes for the Tigers.
Dr. Donnis Thompson Rainbow Wahine Invitational
Olomana Golf Links
Team Scores (Par 288-576)
1. Arizona 300-294 — 594 +18; 2. Oklahoma State 303-298 — 601 +25; 3. Oklahoma 304-300 — 604 +28; 4. LSU 304-301 — 605 +29; 5. Oregon State
299-307 — 606 +30; 6. Brigham Young 304-307 — 611 +35; 7. TCU 302-310 — 612 +36; 8. Colorado 305-311 — 616 +40; 9. Colorado State 305-312 — 617 +41; 10. Minnesota 309-309 — 618 +42; 11. Weber State 314-321 — 635 +59; 12. UTEP 322-320 — 642 +66; 13. Wichita State 327-319 — 646 +70; 14. Hawaii 326-326 — 650 +74; 15. Wyoming 327-334 — 661 +85; 16. Montana State 336-327 — 663 +87; 17. Cincinnati 329-339 — 668 +92; 18. Osaka Gakuin 333-350 — 683 +107.
Top 5 Individuals (Par 72-144)
1. Natalie Gulbis, Arizona, 71-71 — 142 -2; 2. Christi Cano, Oklahoma State, 71-71 — 142 -2; 3. Katy Harris, LSU, 73-73 — 146 +2; 3. Laura Myerscough, Arizona, 75-71 — 146 +2; 5. Stacie Ferguson, Oregon State, 70-77 -147 +3.
LSU Scores
T3. Katy Harris 73-73 — 146 +2
T16. Isabell Dorenllas 76-76 — 152 +8
T19. Meredith Duncan 76-77 — 153 +9
T29. Lesley McClurg 80-75 — 155 +11
T35. Lindy Hitdlebaugh 79-77 — 156 +12