LSU's Elsa Svensson T3 In Golf Championships; Tigers Looking To Move Up Sunday

CARLSBAD, California – LSU senior golfer Elsa Svensson posted an even par round of 72 on Saturday to stand in a tie for third after 36 holes of the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course.

The Tigers will have some work to do in the third round on Sunday as they try to rally into the top 15 for the first cut to the top 15 teams for the final round of stroke play on Monday. But just like in the Columbus Regional, the Tigers are just one shot out of 15 which is +13 held in the final spot by Florida and UCLA. LSU is one more shot back at 14-over par.

Svensson, who posted a 4-under par round of 68 on Friday, had things going her way on the back nine (which the team played first on Saturday) with birdies on the par 5 10th hole and the par 4 13th hole. Svensson was also able to make a few good par putts to turn in 2-under 34 and briefly in the tournament lead.

Svensson moved to as much as seven under after a birdie on the first hole, her 10th of the day, but bogeys on the two par fives and the par 4 ninth hole when she could not get up and down from behind the green left her at even par.

She is very much in the battle for the individual championship at 4-under 140 after 36 holes, three shots behind midway leader Avery Weed of Mississippi State, who posted rounds of 69 and 68 to stand in solo first at 7-under 137. Eila Galinsky of South Carolina (71-68) is second at 5-under 139.

Svensson is in a tie with Catherine Park of Southern California (68-72) and Grace Kilcrease of Oklahoma State (69-71) at 140.

The Tigers, in cool and windy conditions just couldn’t get things going except at a couple points in the round with only eight counting birdies. The highlight was the back-to-back birdie-eagle by senior Aine Donegan on the par 4 fifth and the par 5 sixth hole. It was one of just four eagles in the tournament through the first two rounds

LSU finished at 9-over 297 on the day and stands at +14 590 (293-297). The Tigers are T17 after 36 holes and will need to move up on Sunday to make the first cut in the top 15. LSU will have an idea what they need to make the top 15 as the Tigers will play in the first wave of the afternoon session, while one of the two teams tied for 15th will play in the morning with the top 15 seeds and the other will be with LSU in the afternoon wave.

“It was a tough day today,” said LSU Coach Garrett Runion. “We certainly are capable of playing better, but hopefully in four rounds of a tournament, you are going to have one round that’s not your best. Hopefully, this was our high round for the week and now we get some rest in the afternoon. We’ll practice some this afternoon and then come out fresh (Sunday) and hopefully post a good one.

“I thought Elsa played pretty well again, backing up her solid round from Friday. Aine, her final five with that birdie-eagle was great momentum for us, and on some tough closing holes.”

LSU also counted a 1-over 73 in a three-birdie effort by freshman Rocio Tejedo and a 5-over 77 from junior Taylor Riley. Tejedo is at 3-over 147 after two rounds and moved up 21 spots to T43.

The average score for the field of 156 moved up slightly on the second day from 74.69 to 74.94 on the day. Svensson is tied for the tournament lead in play on par 4 holes at 3.75 and is in a group T6 with eight total birdies.

Overall, No. 1 Stanford had a big day, posting 10-under par 278 and they are in the lead at 5-under par 571. Northwestern at 576 (even) and Oregon (577) round out the top three.

LSU will be paired with UCLA and Kansas State beginning at 11:50 a.m. off the first team. It appears on paper to be nine teams that are battling for the final five teams to make the cut to 15.

Temperatures are supposed to get into the mid-60s on Sunday with some wind in the forecast but more so in the afternoon.

Live scoring will be available at Scoreboard.clippd.com at the NCAA Women’s Championship tab. Updates on “X” @LSUWomensgolf and @LSUKent.

NCAA WOMEN’S DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIPS
Carlsbad, California – OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa
Second Round Team Results (Par 288-576)
Cut to Top 15 Teams After Sunday’s Round
NCAA Scoreboard by Clippd National Rankings Also Listed
1 #1 Stanford – 293-278 – 571 -5
2 #11 Northwestern – 291-285 – 576 E
3 #5 Oregon – 288-289 – 577 +1
T4 #9 Southern California – 292-287 – 579 +3
T4 #4 Florida State – 295-284 – 579 +3
6 #18 Mississippi State – 294-286 – 580 +4
7 #6 Texas – 288-293 – 581 +5
7 #25 Oklahoma State – 284-297 – 581 +5
9 #8 Arizona State – 288-294 – 582 +6
10 # 3 South Carolina – 297-286 – 583 +7
T11 #10 Virginia – 294-293 – 587 +11
T11 #2 Arkansas – 297-290 – 587 +11
T13 #24 Vanderbilt – 282-306 – 588 +12
T13 #31 Tennessee – 291-297 – 588 +12
T15 #22 Florida – 288-301 – 589 +13
T15 #28 UCLA – 295-294 – 589 +13
T17 #12 LSU – 293-297 – 590 +14
T17 #27 Kansas State – 289-301 – 590 +14
19 #13 Ohio State – 295-297 – 592 +16
20 #23 Michigan State – 294-303 – 597 +21
21 #33 Oklahoma – 302-297 – 599 +23
22 #29 Iowa State – 306-294 – 600 +24
23 #21 Kansas – 297-304 – 601 +25
24 #7 Wake Forest – 304-298 – 602 +26
25 #14 Ole Miss – 301-304 – 604 +28
T26 #37 Baylor – 296-311 – 607 +31
T26 #41 Purdue – 303-304 – 607 +31
28 #32 Georgia Southern – 295-313 – 608 +32
29 Cal State Fullerton – 308-301 – 609 +33
30 #35 UNLV – 310-301 – 611 — +35

Top 5 Individuals (Par 72-144)
1 #39 Avery Weed, Mississippi State – 69-68 – 137 -7
T2 #19 Eila Galinsky, South Carolina – 71-68 – 139 -5
T3 #33 Grace Kilcrease, Oklahoma State – 69-71 – 140 -4
T3 #91 Elsa Svensson, LSU – 68-72 – 140 -4
T3 #22 Catherine Park, Southern California – 68-72 – 140 -4

LSU Scores
T3 Elsa Svensson – 68-72 – 140 -4
T43 Rocio Tejedo – 74-73 – 143 +3
T94 Aine Donegan – 76-75 – 151 +7
T103 Taylor Riley – 75-77 – 152 +8
T126 Josefin Widal – 76-78 – 154 +10