Brooks keeps Florida in top spot after two rounds of Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate

   The golf course played a little tougher and things tightened up after two rounds of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Monday, but reigning Southeastern Conference champion Florida, No. 14 in the latest Golfstat rankings, held onto a one-shot edge.

   Led by individual leader Sierra Brooks, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla., the Gators struggled a little, posting a 13-over 301 at English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans, but retained the lead with an 8-over 584 total. Dangerous Southern California, ranked 12^th, had the best round of the day, a 4-over 292 to move into second place, just a shot behind the Gators at 9-over 585.

   Florida and Southern Cal are the only two teams in the competitive 17-team field that were among the final eight teams left standing for match play in the NCAA Championship last spring at Rich Harvest Farms.

   Reigning Big Ten champion Michigan State, ranked 11^th, struggled to a 16-over 304, but is still very much in the hunt for the team title in third place at 12-over 588.

   The state of North Carolina holds down the next two spots in the team standings as sophomore Brynn Walker, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, and No. 40 North Carolina are in fourth place, three shots behind Michigan State at 15-over 591 and No. 35 North Carolina State is another shot behind the Tar Heels in fifth at 16-over 592.

   The Tar Heels and the Wolfpack were the only other teams beside Southern Cal to break 300 as the wind picked up and made for challenging conditions over the 6,239-yard, par-72 English Turn layout, North Carolina carding a 299 and N.C. State coming in a stroke better at 298.

   No. 25 Miami and No. 59 Southern Methodist are tied for sixth at 22-over 598, the Hurricanes posting a 303 and the Mustangs firing a 302.

   Brooks, the runnerup at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur and a member of the 2016 U.S. Curtis Cup team, fired a second consecutive 69 to grab a one-shot lead in the individual chase at 6-under 138. After an injury-plagued year at Wake Forest, Brooks transferred to Florida and has quickly established herself as the Gators’ top player since becoming eligible for the spring portion of the season. 

   Unfortunately for Florida, its next highest player in the individual standings, Elin Esborn, a redshirt freshman from Sweden who is alone in fourth place at 1-under 143, five shots behind Brooks, is competing as an individual, so her scores aren’t part of the team scoring. She’s making a pretty strong case to be included among the starting five for Florida’s next tournament, though.

   Esborn added an even-par 72 to her opening round of 1-under 71.

   Taylor Tomlinson, a senior from Gainesville, Fla., is tied for 12^th at 3-over 147 after carding a 76, and Martz Perez, a sophomore from Spain, is tied for 16^th at 4-over 148 after posting a 78. Tomlinson and Perez were both in the lineup when the Gators stormed to the SEC title last spring.

   Carlotta Ricolfi, a sophomore from Italy, and Addie Baggarty, a freshman from Jonesborough, Tenn., are in a group tied for 42^nd at 153. Ricolfi carded a 78 and was the Gators’ final counter while Baggarty, who had opened with a solid 73, struggled a little with an 80.

   Michigan State’s Allyson Geer, a sophomore from Brighton, Mich., matched par with a 72 after opening with a 5-under 67 to gain a share of second place, a shot behind Brooks at 5-under 139.

There are a ton of talented freshmen around the country and Southern Cal’s Jennifer Chang of Cary, N.C. is one of them. Chang matched Brooks for the low round of the day, a 3-under 69, after opening with a 70 and is tied with Geer at 5-under.

   Three players are tied for fifth at even-par 144, a shot behind Florida’s individual entrant Esborn.

UCF’s Kaeli Jones, a senior from Sumterville, Fla., had opened up Sunday with a scintillating 66, but fell back with a 78 to get into the tie for fifth at 144. She was joined there by Southern Cal’s Alisen Corpuz, a sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii who posted a 74, and N.C. State’s Cecily Overbey, a senior from High Point, N.C. who added a 75 to her opening-round 69.

   North Carolina might be ranked 40^th, but its ninth-place finish in the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Championship – which left the Tar Heels one frustrating shot out of the match-play bracket at Rich Harvest Farm – says it was a top-10 program a year ago.

   Speaking of talented freshmen, North Carolina was led by its precocious rookie, Ava Bergner of Germany, who added a 73 to her opening-round 72 and is tied for eighth at 1-over 145.

   Walker, whose team successes are just as impressive as the two state titles she won at Radnor, added a 75 to her opening-round 72 and is tied for 12^th at 3-over 147. Walker has been in the starting five for North Carolina for every tournament the Tar Heels have played in the her still young collegiate career.

   Two other veterans of the Tar Heels’ run to the brink of match play in the NCAA Championship alongside Walker, Bryana Nguyen, a senior from Columbia, Md., and Kelly Whaley, a junior from Farmington, Conn., are also playing solid golf at English Turn.

   Nguyen is tied for 19^th at 5-over 149 after a 76 Monday and Whaley is tied for 26^th at 150 after a second consecutive 75.

   Rounding out the North Carolina lineup is Mariana Ocano, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla. who is tied for 73^rd at 159 after carding a 79.