Lauren Walsh returned a superb career round 66 to move into second spot while Beth Coulter fired a four-under par round of 68 to inspire an Arizona State revival on day two of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate at Royal Golf Club.
Wake Forest star Walsh trails by six shots after two birdies on her first nine holes and five more on her second, including a birdie on the par-five 18th which helped her jump 13 spots on the individual leaderboard to be in contention for the title.
At five-under par, the Castlewarden ace will likely need to go low again later today if she’s to reel in runaway leader Amanda Sambach at minus-11. Wake Forest sit in second spot on the team standings, trailing Virginia by six strokes.
Meanwhile, Coulter’s Sun Devils cut their total by 15 strokes, firing a 285 (-3) to gain several spots on the teams just ahead of them on the leaderboard. ASU sits in ninth place as a team after finishing with the fifth-best round of the day.
A big reason for the jump was the outstanding play of Kirkistown Castle freshman Coulter who hasn’t taken long to adjust to her new surroundings. Climbing 28 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 17th place at one-over, the Irish international carded five birdies on Tuesday and will look to push on for a first top-10 Stateside at her first time of trying later today.
“We played really well today,” said Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye. “What a difference from day-to-day improving by 15-shots.
“I love the resilience of this team and we worked hard yesterday after the round and worked on a few things that we struggled with. We came back and they played solid and they know they can play better.
“It’s a great place to be. We have a long way to go for the season but I’m really proud of how they played today and they did a great job.
“We look forward to one more day tomorrow. We’re going to keep learning and its terrific to be here at the ANNIKA. We look forward to a great last day tomorrow.”
Auburn’s Anna Foster brilliantly bounced back from an opening 79 with a three-under 69 to move 23 places up the leaderboard to a tie for 31st.
- Full scoring HERE
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