The No. 6-ranked Georgia women’s golf team posted a 6-over 294 in Saturday’s second round of the Liz Murphey Fall Collegiate Classic. The Bulldogs enter the final day of play at the UGA Golf Course tied for fourth at 6-over 582, eight shots back of No. 7 Auburn.
“We would like to be leading like after yesterday, but we’re playing in basically a conference championship so if you don’t play well – or even great – every day, you’re going to fall behind a little bit,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “We’re still in a position where we have a chance to win the golf tournament, and we’re going to try to go out tomorrow and have our best round of the year.”
Isabella Holpfer and Caroline Craig are among the top-10 golfers on the individual leaderboard. They are tied fourth and 10th, respectively.
Georgia’s low individual score of the day was a pair of even-par 72s from Jenny Bae, playing for Georgia’s Red squad, and Céleste Dao, who is competing for the Bulldogs’ Black team.
The Red team also counted a 73 from Caterina Don, a 74 from Holpfer and a 75, the score notched by both Craig and Jo Hua Hung.
The Black team shot 10-over 298 and is in 12th at 603. Following Dao, the counting scores were a 73 from Candice Mahe, a 76 from Alison Crenshaw and a 77 from Gabriela Coello, while dropping Zoë Walker’s 78.
Overall, Bae and Dao are tied for 26th at 4-over 148, Hung is tied for 30th at 149, Don is tied for 33rd at 150, Coello and Mahe are tied for 38th at 151, Crendshaw is tied for 47th at 153 and Walker is 58th at 160.
Bae’s day was relatively steady. She was 2-over through 12 holes, with bogeys at No. 3 and No. 12, but fought back with birdies at No. 14 and No. 18 to secure her fifth par-or-better score in eight rounds this fall.
“Obviously I played better than yesterday,” Bae said. “I am feeling a little bit more light hearted, but I’m definitely still feeling some tension. Today, my putting helped more than yesterday. Also, my shots were straighter, and I gained more accuracy. I could feel greens were definitely firmer so I’ll have to watch my speed tomorrow.”
Dao’s round was more back-and-forth. She teed off from No. 10 and played the back half of the UGA layout first. Dao enjoyed early birdies on No. 11 and No. 12 but double-bogeyed No. 13 and also bogeyed No. 15 to “turn” at 1-over. She birdied No. 2 and No. 5 but gave those shots back with a double-bogey at No. 6. Dao finished her day by going birdie-bogey-birdie to wrap up at even.
No. 7 Auburn posted a 7-under 281 to surge to a seven-shot lead over the field in the team competition. The Tigers are at 2-under 574 overall through 36 holes. No. 11 Vanderbilt and No. 18 Mississippi State are tied for second at 581, followed by the Bulldogs and No. 10 Tennessee at 582, No. 14 Kentucky at 586, No. 1 LSU at 587, No. 17 Texas A&M at 591 and No. 2 Arkansas and No. 9 Alabama both at 594.
Mississippi State’s Hannah Levi blistered the UGA layout en route to a 6-under 66 to move atop the individual leaderboard at 6-under 138. Levi’s bogey-free score was the second-best round in 48 editions of the Liz Murphey, a stroke shy of the tournament record by Lauren Stephenson of Alabama in 2018.
The Bulldogs will be paired with the Tennessee and Kentucky on Sunday, teeing off between 8:30-9:14 from No. 1. Georgia’s Black team will compete alongside A&M and Missouri beginning at No. 10 from 8:34-9:18. Live scoring is available via golfstat.com. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the only spectators allowed to attend the tournament are admitted via “Player Pass List.”
Liz Murphey Fall Collegiate Classic
UGA Golf Course • Athens, Ga.
Par 72; 6302 Yards
Saturday’s Second-Round Results
Team Leaderboard
Auburn 293-281=574
Vanderbilt 292-289=581
Mississippi State 292-289=581
Georgia Red 288-294=582
Tennessee 292-290=582
Kentucky 296-290=586
LSU 292-295=587
Texas A&M 299-292=591
Arkansas 296-298=594
Alabama 303-291=594
Missouri 309-288=597
Georgia Black 305-298=603
Individual Leaderboard
Hannah Levi, Mississippi St. 72-66=138
Megan Schofil, Auburn 71-70=141
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU 72-70=141
Virginie Ding, Vanderbilt 76-67=143
Kenzie Wright, Alabama 74-69=143
Mychael O’Berry, Auburn 74-69=143
Courtney Dow, Texas A&M 74-69=143
Mikayla Bardwell, Tennessee 69-74=143
Isabella Holpfer, Georgia 69-74=143
Nicole Whiston, Tennessee 74-70=144
Jess Yeun, Missouri 74-70=144
Blair Stockett, Mississippi St. 72-72=144
Laney Frye, Kentucky 71-73=144
Caroline Craig, Georgia 69-75=144
Additional Georgia Scores
T26. Jenny Bae, Georgia Red 76-72=148
T26. Céleste Dao, Georgia Black 76-72=148
T30. Jo Hua Hung, Georgia Red 74-75=149
T33. Caterina Don, Georgia Red 77-73=150
T38. Gabriela Coello, Georgia Black 74-77=151
T38. Candice Mahe, Georgia Black 78-73=151
T47. Alison Crenshaw, Georgia Black 77-76=153
58. Zoë Walker, Georgia Black 87-78=155