Successive rounds of 73 ensured Olivia Mehaffey made it a hat trick of missed cuts to start 2023 at the Epson Tour’s Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic.
Mehaffey ended the 36 holes on two-over-par, three shots shy of making it into the weekend.
The Tandragee native once again fell foul to the double bogeys, carding two in her second round and three overall and that told the story despite plenty of birdies.
Mehaffey registered five birdies and two bogeys but doubles on four and eight proved costly.
Kathleen Scavo maintained her first-round lead, despite some hiccups along the way. The Californian carded a double bogey on the par-3 No. 7 but finished her round with a birdie and confidence heading into the third round.
“For the most part, I continued to play well. I had confidence from yesterday,” said Scavo. “I had a couple of hiccups out there, but I was able to recover well and made birdie on the last hole.”
Joining Scavo at the top is Australian Gabriela Ruffels. Despite starting the day off with a bogey, Ruffels turned the day around with six birdies, one of which resulted from an incredible shot that led to an easy two-putt and strong finish.
“I was really happy with the day. I started one-over through three [holes] actually, so I was happy that I stayed patient,” said Ruffels. “I would say my highlight was on 18. I had to cut hybrid over the tree and was able to finish with a birdie to tie the lead. I just stayed patient, made six birdies out there, and it was a pretty consistent day.”
Min A Yoon signed for a bogey-free, -6, 66 to join Ruffels and Scavo in the lead group on Saturday. The Korean claims playing with long-time friend Katie Yoo made her comfortable and sparked the low round.
“My shots and putting went better than yesterday,” said Yoon. “So I think that led to a good result. It’s been a while since I played with Katie, so it was definitely more comfortable, and I had a lot of fun playing with her. Maybe that’s why I finished with a better result today.”
Rounding out the top five, tied for fourth, are Kenzie Wright, Soo Bin Joo, Roberta Liti, and Emilee Hoffman. Wright carded a -7 round with eight birdies, four of which consecutively opened her round. Seventy players made the cut at -1, including Epson Tour ambassador Bailey Tardy who made the biggest move on the leaderboard from T129 to T56.
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