The No. 5 Georgia women’s golf team already was en route to the best round of the day at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate on Saturday. And then a late surge turned a solid loop into a stellar day.
 
 
The Bulldogs played their final three holes at 6-under as a team to finish the day at 2-under 282. More importantly, Georgia vaulted from 12th to fifth in the team and pulled within seven shots of Alabama on the leaderboard.
 
 
Harang Lee and Rinko Mitsunaga both played the final three holes at 3-under, while Bailey Tardy covered the same territory at 1-under and Mary Ellen Shuman did so at 1-over.
 
 
“I knew we were playing solid, but we’re usually walking with one person so you don’t really know what’s going on in front or behind you,” Brewer said. “I was with Rinko and she finished birdie-eagle so I knew that was good. All of a sudden, we were on this 8-0 or 10-0 run like a basketball team, and we made up so much ground.”
 
 
On the day, Lee provided Georgia’s low loop of 2-under 69, while Mitsunaga, Tardy and Shuman all signed for even-par 71s.
 
 
That came a day after the Bulldogs shot 17-over 301 on Friday.
 
 
“I’m proud of them,” Brewer said. “We really hadn’t faced any adversity like we did yesterday all year. Spring break is two days away and you wonder if they’re going to maybe think about packing it in or continue to grind. They showed a lot of courage and maturity today. Now we have a chance to win tomorrow. That’s all you want in any tournament. If we can continue to knock off seven, 10 or even 15 shots off of people, it’s going to make a difference now and also later. We will know – and they will know – that we’re capable of doing that if we just continue to play our game.”
 
 
No. 4 Alabama remains atop the team field at 576, followed by Virginia at 579; No. 10 Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt at 582; the Bulldogs at 583; No. 3 Arkansas, North Carolina and Auburn all at 585; No. 21 Tennessee at 587; No. 2 Duke at 588; and No. 1 Southern Cal at 590.
 
 
Virginia’s Lauren Coughlin and Vanderbilt’s Alexandra Farnsworth are tied atop the individual standings, both at 3-under 139. For Georgia, Lee is seventh at 142, Tardy is tied for 11th at 145, Mitsunaga is tied for 23rd at 147, Shuman is tied for 39th at 149 and Manuela Carbajo Ré is tied for 68th at 153.
 
 
Shuman, a junior from nearby St. Simons Island, Ga., who is playing in her first tournament as a member of Georgia’s lineup for the first time since last March, produced her first career par-or-better score with the Bulldogs.
 
 
“I’m proud of her,” Brewer said. “She’s waited for this chance. It would’ve been easy to give up a bit, but she continued to work hard. This should tell everyone on our roster that if you continue to work hard and push yourself, your chance will come. And Mary Ellen took advantage of that opportunity when it came.”
 
 
Georgia will be paired with Vanderbilt and North Carolina for Sunday’s final round, teeing off in waves from 8:45-9:21 a.m. Live scoring is being updated on a three-hole basis at www.golfstat.com.
 
 

Saturday’s Second-Round Results

Darius Rucker Intercollegiate
Long Cove Club
Hilton Head, S.C.
Par 71, 6243 Yards

 
 
Team Leaderboard
 
Alabama 278-298=576
Virginia 281-298=579
Oklahoma State 292-290=582
Vanderbilt 282-300=582
Georgia 301-282=583
North Carolina 290-295=585
Auburn 296-289=585
Arkansas 289-296=585
Tennessee 295-292=587
Duke 297-289=588
Southern Cal 297-293=590
South Carolina 303-291=594
Wake Forest 300-300=600
Mississippi State 303-300=603
LSU 303-301=604
Furman 303-302=605
Kentucky 307-300=607
 
 
Individual Leaderboard
 
Lauren Coughlin, Virginia 67-72=139
Alexandra Farnsworth, Vanderbilt 67-72=139
Maddie McCrary, Oklahoma State 71-70=141
Maria Fassi, Arkansas 71-70=141
Sandy Choi, Duke 71-70=141
Cheyenne Knight, Alabama 67-74=141
Harang Lee, Georgia 73-69=142
Michaela Owen, Auburn 73-70=143
Emma Talley, Alabama 70-73=143
Linnea Johansson, Oklahoma State 70-74=144
 
 
Georgia Scores
 
T11. Bailey Tardy, Georgia 74-71=145
T23. Rinko Mitsunaga, Georgia 76-71=147
T39. Mary Ellen Shuman, Georgia 78-71=149
T68. Manuela Carbajo Ré, Georgia 78-75=153