May 21, 2008
Albuquerque, N.M. - The NCAA Women's Golf Championship was suspended Wednesday during the second round due to windy conditions. No. 10 Auburn shot 27-over 315 and was part of the morning group that finished play.
"We finished our round and had a tough day," head coach Kim Evans said. "We got off to a bad start and actually played better as the wind picked up. Play was suspended and we lost about five shots on the last few holes. Play was suspended for the afternoon groups because of wind that was 30-60 mph."
Southern California and UCLA are tied for the tournament lead at 8-over (584) when play was halted at the par 72, 6, 424-yard University of New Mexico Championship Course. Belen Mozo from Southern California has the individual lead at 4-under (140).
Freshman Cydney Clanton led the Tigers in the second round, shooting 3-over 75. Clanton finished the front nine at 4-over, but pulled to 2-over with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11. She returned to 4-over with consecutive bogeys on 13 and 14, but birdied on 15 and 17 to move to 2-over. She bogeyed on 18 to finish the day.
Classmate Sarah Thead fired 6-over 78 and finished the front nine 5-over. She opened with back-to-back bogeys before a birdie on 4. Four straight bogeys from five to eight were the difference in the opening nine holes. She went even par the next two holes before consecutive birdies on 11 and 12 pulled her to 3-over. She looked to go even par the rest of the way, but doubled on 17 and bogeyed on 18 to finish at 6-over.
Senior Margaret Shirley shot 8-over 80. Shirley struggled on the front nine as she bogeyed five times and doubled on two. She regained composure and went even par the next six holes before bogeying on 13. A birdie on 15 put her at 7-over, but another bogey on 17 left her at 8-over for the day.
Both Mariana Macias and Candace Schepperle shot 10-over 82. Macias finished the front nine 5-over after two bogeys and a double. She went even from seven to 12, but bogeys on six of the last eight holes were the difference. Schepperle finished the front nine 4-over after five bogeys and just a birdie on open play. She doubled on 12 and had back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 to go to 8-over. Another double on 17 left her at 10-over.
Only 12 teams finished their second round Wednesday while the others will resume play at 7 a.m. MT Thursday. Play was stopped at 1:10 p.m. due to high winds and resumed again at 3:19 p.m. The official suspension came at 4:55 p.m. when teams were alerted to clear the course. The remaining tournament schedule will be adjusted and announced later this evening by the NCAA.
The second round will be resumed at the current location Thursday at 7 a.m. with results available on www.golfstat.com. Live video will be available for the third and fourth round at www.ncaasports.com. Round 3 will begin at 12:30 p.m. MT with a shotgun start.