Alabama, No. 2 in the latest Golfstat rankings, continued to make it clear that it is going to
be one tough customer in the postseason as the Crimson Tide, behind individual
leader Cheyenne Knight, a junior from Aledo, Texas, stormed to a 12-shot lead after
two rounds of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic Friday in Athens, Ga.
The Liz Murphey has long been one of the top events on the
spring calendar and even incorporated a little match play in recent years to
prepare teams for the match-play portion of the NCAA Championship. But this
year’s event is a 54-hole stroke-play event and with the threat for severe
weather Sunday, it was decided to condense the Liz Murphey into two days with a
double-round Friday.
It certainly didn’t bother Knight and the Crimson Tide as Knight,
the No. 11 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), posted a
sizzling 7-under 65 over the 6,279-yard, par-72 University of Georgia Golf
Course layout in the opening round to provide the spark for a 12-under 276 team
total for Alabama.
The Crimson Tide cooled off in the afternoon with a 2-under
286 for a 14-under 562 total that gave them a 12-shot advantage going into
Saturday’s final round.
And two other teams in Golfstat’s
top five are chasing.
No. 3 Arkansas, which has been so strong right from the
start of the season late last summer, opened with a 2-over 290 before posting
the low round of the afternoon, a 4-under 284. The Razorbacks are the only
other team under par at 2-under 574, but they find themselves trailing Alabama
by 12 shots.
Reigning ACC champion Duke, ranked fifth, is six shots
behind Arkansas in third place at 4-over 580 after opening with a 4-over 292
and matching par in the afternoon with a 288.
Host Georgia, still mysteriously underrated at No. 44, is in
fourth place at 9-over 585 after rounds of 290 and 295, and No. 42 Baylor is
another three shots behind the Bulldogs in fifth place in the strong 12-team
field at 12-over 588 after adding a 299 to its opening round of 1-over 289.
Knight added a 1-under 71 to her opening-round 65 for an
8-under 136 that gave her a three-shot lead in the individual chase over a
talented trio headed by Duke’s Leona Maguire, a senior from Ireland who is the
No. 2 player in the Women’s WAGR.
The problem for the rest of the teams is that Alabama has
three players in the top 12 in the Women’s WAGR.
Lauren Stephenson, a junior from Lexington, S.C. and the No.
7 player in the Women’s WAGR, backed up Knight as Stephenson is tied for fifth
at 4-under 140. Stephenson had the best score of the afternoon for the Tide, a
3-under 69, after opening with a 1-under 71.
Kristen Gillman, a sophomore from Austin, Texas and the No.
12 player in the Women’s WAGR, is alone in seventh place at 3-under 141 after
steady rounds of 70 and 71. Steady must be her middle name because Gillman, who
won the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur as a 16-year-old, seems to be immune to the
occasional bad round that nearly every player experiences, even the really good
ones.
Angelica Moresco, a freshman from Italy who has become a key
depth piece for Alabama, opened with a 2-under 70 before adding a 75 and is in
the group tied for 13th at 1-over 145.
Rounding out the starting lineup for Alabama was its veteran
senior, Lakareber Abe of Angleton, Texas, who is alone in 48th place
at 155 after rounds of 76 and 79.
Nicole Morales, a senior from Salem, N.Y., is competing as
an individual and put together solid rounds of 74 and 75 for a 5-over 149 total
that left her in the group tied for 27th.
Duke’s Maguire, who would like nothing more than to cap her collegiate
career by leading the Blue Devils to a national championship, added a 3-under
69 to her opening-round 70 for a 5-under 139 total that left her three shots
behind Knight.
Georgia’s Jillian Hollis, a junior from Rocky River, Ohio,
matched Maguire’s 70-69 day on Hollis’ home course to move into contention for
the individual title.
Rounding out the trio tied for second at 139 was
Louisville’s Lauren Hartlage, a sophomore from Elizabethtown, Ky. Hartlage
trailed Knight be just a shot after carding a pretty impressive 6-under 66 in
the opening round before falling back with a 1-over 73 in the afternoon.
Maguire wasn’t the only Dookie in the top five. Jaravee
Boonchant, a freshman from Thailand, joined Alabama’s Stephenson in a tie for
fifth at 4-uder 140. Boonchant posted a pair of 2-under 70s.
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