Wake Forest remains in front in Bryan National Collegiate; North Carolina's Walker tied for fourth

   Wake Forest, behind its powerful 1-2 punch of Jennifer Kupcho, a senior from Westminster, Colo. and the No 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Emily Migliacco, a sophomore from Cary, N.C. and No. 18 in the Women’s WAGR, continued to dominate the Bryan National Collegiate during Saturday’s second round at the Bryan Park Champions Course in Browns Summit, N.C.

   North Carolina junior Brynn Walker, a former Radnor High standout, and the Tar Heels continued to turn things around in the spring portion of their schedule. Walker, winner of the PIAA Class AAA title in 2014 and 2015 at Radnor, added a 2-under-par 70 over the 6,305-yard, par-72 Bryan Park Champions Course to her opening-round 71 to join three other players in the group tied for fourth in the individual standings at 3-under 141.

   Wake Forest, No. 12 in the latest Golfstat rankings, is playing at a very high level at the moment. Kupcho, the reigning NCAA individual champion, matched the low round of the day with a 4-under 68 that gave her a share of the individual lead with Migliacco at 8-under 136. Migliacco added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round 67 to get her piece of the top spot.

   As I mentioned in a post on the opening round of the Bryan National Collegiate, Kupcho and Migliacco are both headed for next week’s inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur Invitational, which tees off Wednesday at the Champions Retreat Golf Club.

   They led the Demon Deacons to the low team round of the day, a 6-under 282. It wasn’t quite as impressive as the Bryan National Collegiate record 12-under 274 they posted in Friday’s opening round, but it left Wake Forest at 20-under 556 and with a commanding 16-shot advantage.

   Wake Forest’s Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina State, ranked 57^th, added a 1-under 287 to its opening-round 285 to hold onto second place at 4-under 572.

   Walker’s 2-under 70 led North Carolina to a 4-under 284, which, combined with its opening-round 291, enabled the Tar Heels to get it under par for two rounds at 1-under 575, three shots behind N.C. State in third place.

   No. 72 Charlotte put together a solid 1-under 287 after opening with a 292 to break up the ACC party in fourth place at 3-over 579.

   No. 15 Virginia was another seven shots behind Charlotte in fifth place at 10-over 586 after adding a 7-over 295 to its opening-round 291. No. 50 Virginia Tech made it five ACC teams in the top six as the Hokies added a 6-over 294 to their opening-round 295 and are alone in sixth place at 13-over 289, three shots behind Virginia.

   No. 30 Oregon State, the Pac-12 entry getting out of its comfort zone with a cross-country trip to North Carolina, was alone in seventh place at 17-over 593 after adding a 7-over 295 to its opening-round 298. No. 55 Ohio State, out of the Big Ten, was alone in eighth place in the 17-team field with an 18-over 294 total, a shot behind Oregon State. The Buckeyes added a 10-over 298 to their opening-round 296.

   Backing up Kupcho and Migliacco for Wake Forest was Letizia Bagnoli, a freshman from Italy who backed off a little from her opening-round 68 with a 1-over 73 that left her among the group tied for fourth at 3-under 141 along with North Carolina’s Walker.

   Siyun Liu, a junior from China, added an even-par 72 to her opening-round 71 for the Demon Deacons to leave her among the group tied for 11^th at 1-under 143. Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Vanessa Knecht, a freshman from Switzerland who posted a second straight 1-over 73 to land in the group tied for 18^th at 2-over 146.

   It is the same five that enabled Wake Forest to dominate the Tar Heel Classic hosted by Suzy Whaley earlier this month at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic and the Demon Deacons are doing it again.

   Charlotte’s Ashley Fowler, a sophomore from Germany, carded her second straight 70 to hold down third place at 4-under 140, four shots behind Kupcho and Migliacco.

   Walker, who plays out of St. Davids Golf Club, really had it going in the middle of Saturday’s second round, rattling off five birdies in a stretch of eight holes from the ninth to the 16^th holes to get it to 4-under for the round before a double bogey at the 17^th dropped her back to 2-under.

   Joining Walker and Wake Forest’s Bagnoli in the foursome tied for fourth at 3-under 141 were N.C. State’s India Clyburn, a senior from England, and Idaho’s Sophie Hausmann, a senior from Germany.

   Clyburn, a member of the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team that fell to Kupcho and the United States at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. last summer, added an even-par 72 to her opening-round 69 while Haussmann matched Kupcho for the low round of the day with a 4-under 68 after opening with a 73.

   Jennifer Zhou, a freshman from China, fired a 2-under 70 to share medalist honors for the day for North Carolina with Walker and head a group of three players tied for eighth at 2-under 142. Zhou opened with an even-par 72.

   Zhou was joined at 2-under 142 by Virginia Tech’s Amanda Hollandsworth, a graduate student from Floyd, Va., and Oregon State’s Ellie Slama, a sophomore from Salem, Va. Hollandsworth also matched the low round of the day with a 4-under 68 after opening with a 74 while Slama carded a second straight 1-under 71.

   A third North Carolina player bettered par Saturday as Kelly Whaley, a senior from Farmington, Conn., bounced back from an opening-round 76 with a 1-under 71 for a 3-over 147 total that left her in the group tied for 21^st. Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany, was the final counter for the Tar Heels with a 1-over 73 that left her among the group tied  for 28^th at 4-over 148.

   Nicole Liu, a freshman from Taiwan, rounded out the North Carolina lineup as she posted a 77 that left her among the group tied for 36^th at 6-over 150. Liu had opened with a solid 1-over 73.

   North Carolina head coach Jan Mann also brought alone Mariana Ocano, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., to compete as an individual. Ocano knocked four shots off her opening-round 80 with a 4-over 76 to join the group tied for 69^th at 156.

   Georgetown junior Kate Evanko, who starred scholastically at Unionville, added an 82 to her opening-round 80 and is alone in 87^th place at 162. The reigning Big East champion Hoyas are 16^th in the team standings at 51-over 627 after adding a 312 to their opening-round 315.