Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh leads the way for the Wake Forest women’s golf team who have a solid hold on second spot on the leaderboard after the second round of play at the UCF Challenge.
Sophomore Walsh improved upon her first day by one stroke, shooting a four-under score of 68 to put her in a tie for first place with Houston’s Karen Fredgaard at seven-under par. Fellow Sophomore Rachel Kuehn remains inside the top five as well, carding an even-par 72 in the second round. She sits just one stroke off Walsh in third place.
Walsh’s development has been swift since making the move Stateside. She enjoyed a crushing first win in October, a stunning five stroke success at the Grandover Resort Women’s Griffith Amateur before racing to a second individual triumph with a resounding six shot success at the Women’s Sunshine State Amateur in November.
The Kildare star is currently 42nd on the women’s amateur golf rankings and looks set to rise even further with a place on this year’s GB&I Curtis Cup team now very much a target as her progression continues on a steep upward curve. Ten birdies in two rounds so far this week, Walsh will be confident of claiming a hat-trick of titles when play resumes on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Sara Byrne has made a solid start to life in Miami, adding a 74 to her opening round of 70 to sit in a share of 17th at even par. The Douglas golfer helped the Hurricanes to fifth place ahead of the final day with team coach Patti Rizzo lamenting an unlucky draw with the weather on day two that she hopes her team can overcome on Tuesday.
“It was a very windy and chilly day,” Miami head coach Patti Rizzo said. “The teams that teed off last had the worst of the 30 mph winds and as a team we struggled. Hopefully, we bring it back tomorrow.”
The final round will begin at 8:00 ET Tuesday morning. Tee times will be announced when made available and will also be available online at Golfstat.com
- Full scoring HERE
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