Florida State’s talented youngsters took over the lead
Saturday in what’s shaping up to be a shootout among the Atlantic Coast
Conference’s top three teams in the final round of the Darius Rucker
Intercollegiate, one of the biggest events in women’s college golf at the Long
Cove Club’s Pete Dye Course on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island.
Led by individual leader Frida Kinhult, a freshman from
Sweden and the No. 8 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR),
the Seminoles, No. 19 in the latest Golfstat
rankings, were the only team to better par as a team with their 3-under-par 281
in the second round.
Kinhult led the way, carding her second straight 3-under 68
over the 6,266-yard, par-71 Pete Dye Course for a 36-hole total of 6-under 136
total that gave her a one-shot lead over Wake Forest’s Jennifer Kupcho, a
senior from Westminster, Colo. and the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR.
As fascinating as the battle among the three ACC teams at
the top of the leaderboard for the team title should be, a showdown between the
reigning NCAA champion Kupcho and the best freshman in the country in Kinhult
for the individual crown might be even more intriguing.
Florida State’s 3-under second round, combined with an
even-par 284 in Friday’s opening round, gave it a 3-under 565 total. The
Seminoles are the only team in the elite 17-team field under par after two
rounds.
No. 3 Duke, the two-time reigning ACC champion, matched par
with a 284 after opening with a 5-over 289 and is alone in second place, eight
shots behind Florida State at 5-over 573.
No. 13 Wake Forest added a 4-over 288 to its opening round
of 1-over 285, leaving the Demon Deacons a shot behind the Dookies in third
place at 6-over 574.
Tournament host South Carolina, ranked 10th, is another
six shots behind Wake Forest in fourth place at 12-over 580. The Gamecocks, a
Southeastern Conference power, had grabbed the opening-round lead with a
2-under 282 before falling back with a 14-over 298 in Saturday’s second round.
South Carolina’s SEC rival LSU, perhaps a tad underrated at
No. 56, and No. 23 Furman are tied for fifth, three shots behind the Gamecocks
at 15-over 583. The Tigers added a 9-over 293 to their opening-round 290 while
the Paladins posted an 8-over 292 after opening with a 291.
No. 4 UCLA, the two-time reigning Pac-12 champion, is a shot
behind LSU and Furman in seventh place at 16-over 584. Give the Bruins credit
for getting out of their comfort zone and flying across the country to battle
this tough field. They took six shots off an opening-round 295 with a 5-over
289 in Saturday’s second round.
Former Radnor High standout Brynn Walker and No. 33 North
Carolina remained in 16th place at 36-over 314. The Tar Heels
improved six shots from their opening-round 305 with a 15-over 299.
Backing up Kinhult for the Seminoles is their veteran
leader, Amanda Doherty, a junior from Atlanta who added a steady 1-over 72 to
her opening round of even-par 71 as she joined the group tied for 10th
at 1-over 143.
Doherty kept her game sharp during the midseason break as
she claimed the title in The Sally, one of the storied events in the unofficial
Orange Blossom Tour at Oceanside Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla. in January.
The other three players in the Florida State lineup are,
like Kinhult, freshmen.
Puk Lyng Thomsen of Denmark carded a solid 2-under 70 to
join the group tied for 27th at 4-over 146. Beatrice Wallin, like
Kinhult a Swede, had opened with a sparkling 2-under 69, but struggled to a
7-over 78 and is in the group tied for 33rd at 5-over 147. Wallin is
No. 35 in the Women’s WAGR.
But Amelia Williamson of England picked up Wallin and the
rest of the Seminoles by matching par with a 71 that left her in the group tied
for 56th at 10-over 152. Williamson had struggled in the opening
round with an 81. It’s the kind of performance that so often makes the
difference in a tournament win.
If you think Florida State is too young to succeed, think
again. It was only last spring that a Southern California quintet that featured
four freshmen and a sophomore reached the semifinals in the NCAA Championship
at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
Kupcho, who finished second in the eight-round marathon LPGA
Q-Series last fall and opted to defer accepting her tour card until this
summer, matched Kinhult’s 4-under 68 after opening with a 69 to trail the
talented Swede by a shot at 5-under 137 in the individual standings.
Duke has a pretty talented freshman, as well, in Gina Kim of
Chapel Hill, N.C. and No. 41 in the Women’s WAGR. Kim also fired a 3-under 68
in Saturday’s second round after opening with an even-par 71 and is alone in
third place, two shots behind Kupcho at 3-under 139.
Alabama’s Angelica Moresco, a sophomore from Italy, carded a
second straight 1-under 70 and is alone in fourth place, a shot behind Kim at
2-uneder 140.
Furman’s Haylee Harford, a junior from Leavittsburg, Ohio
and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, and Baylor’s Gurleen Kaur, a sophomore from
Houston, are tied for fifth at 1-under 141, a shot behind Moresco.
Harford carded a 3-under 68 after opening with a 2-over 73
while Kaur added a 1-under 70 to the even-par 71 she posted in the opening
round.
All those 68s were not the low rounds of the day at the
challenging Pete Dye Course. Alabama’s Kenzie Wright, a junior from Frisco, Texas,
fired a 4-under 67 after struggling in the opening round with a 78 to move up
and join the group tied for 21st at 3-over 145.
No program was hit harder by midseason defections to the
LPGA Tour than Alabama as two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kristen
Gillman and Lauren Stephenson both moved on to the big leagues of women’s golf.
Alabama won the team title in the Darius Rucker for the third straight time
last spring.
The 16th-ranked Crimson Tide are in 14th
place after two rounds at 33-over 611, although Moresco and Wright helped them shave
17 shots off their opening-round 309 with an 8-over 292 in the second round.
Heading a group of three players tied for seventh at
even-par 142 was Duke’s Jaravee Boonchant, a sophomore from Thailand and No. 23
in the Women’s WAGR. Boonchant added a 1-under 70 to her opening round of
1-over 72.
Arkansas’ Kaylee Benton, a senior from Buckeye, Ariz., is
also in that group after cooling off from her opening-round 69 with a 2-over
73. Benton reached the semifinals of last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at The
Golf Club of Tennessee before falling to Gillman on the 19th hole.
Rounding out the trio tied for seventh was LSU’s Monica
Dibildox, a junior from Mexico who added a 1-over 72 to her opening round of
1-under 70.
North Carolina was led by Ava Bergner, a sophomore from
Germany who is among the group tied for 33rd at 5-over 147 after
adding a 3-over 74 to her opening-round 73.
Nicole Lu, a freshman from Thailand, took four shots off her
opening-round 77 with a 2-over 73, the Tar Heels’ best score of the day, and is
in the group tied for 49th at 8-over 150. Walker, a junior who
captured a pair of PIAA Class AAA titles at Radnor, shaved two shots off her
opening-round 77 with a 4-over 75 and is among the group tied for 56th
at 10-over 152.
Kelly Whaley, the Tar Heels’ senior leader from Farmington,
Conn., continued to struggle as she added a 77 to her opening-round 78 and is
in the group tied for 76th at 155.
Mariana Ocano, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., also
continued to struggle, adding an 80 to her opening-round 84 that left her alone
in 88th place at 164. It was at the Pete Dye Course a year ago where Ocano was
North Carolina’s best player, finishing in a tie for 11th, a
performance that solidified her spot in the Tar Heels’ lineup.
North Carolina coach Jan Mann has to be a little encouraged
by the showing of Jennifer Zhou, a freshman from China whom Mann brought along
to compete as an individual. Zhou backed off a little from her opening round of
even-par 71 with a 76, but a 36-hole total of 5-over 147 has her among the
group tied for 33rd along with her teammate Bergner.
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