Mami Yamamoto sank a 20-foot birdie putt to close a 1-under-par 71 round Tuesday afternoon as she led Texas Tech through the second day of the NCAA Austin Regional held at the University of Texas Golf Club.
Yamamoto was consistent throughout the day, going up-and-down multiple times as part of 15 pars on the afternoon to go along with her two birdies at the final two par-5 locations – the 5th and 9th holes. She started the round with pars on each of her first 12 holes.
The junior broke through with her first birdie at the 5th as she landed her approach just a few feet from the pin for an easy tap-in putt. She followed a few moments later with a strong approach at the 9th before rolling in the first of Tech’s two birdies at the hole.
“Mami played great,” Tech head coach JoJo Robertson said. “I didn’t even realize how good it was until she finished on the last hole. Every time I turned around she was in good shape. It looked like she was just as steady as can be today.”
Yamamoto’s round marked her third career 1-under card at a NCAA event as she previously fired similar scores at the 2016 Stanford Regional and then last year’s regional held at The Rawls Course. The successful day moved her into contention for possibly landing one of the three advancing individual spots as she is now in a tie for 29th overall.
As a team, the Red Raiders combined for an 11-over 299 card that was one stroke better than Tech’s opening round Monday. Tech dropped into 13th place overall at 23-over for the tournament entering Wednesday’s third and final round.
Amy Taylor signed for Tech’s second-lowest score as the freshman finished 2-over thanks in part to three birdies over her first 10 holes. She moved into a tie for 48th on the individual leaderboard at 6-over for the tournament.
Gabby Barker and Lauren Mason chipped in Tech’s two other contributing scores with 4-over and 6-over rounds. Barker is now 8-over for the tournament and in a tie for 60th, while Mason, who added a birdie of her own right after Yamamoto at the 9th hole, is one stroke ahead of her fellow senior in a tie for 53rd. Louisa Brunt added an 8-over round for the second-straight day to sit in a tie for 84th place.
“Today was a tough day,” Robertson said. “When you look at the scores, I think we got off to a good start and had a chance to really move up. For whatever reason, we just didn’t get it done. Today with the weather and the wind was definitely a chance for us to improve, and unfortunately we didn’t play the way we wanted.”
Tech will be paired with Houston and Miami Wednesday morning as the Red Raiders are slated for the 9 a.m. starting group at the No. 10 tee once again. Live scoring will be provided throughout the round on Golfstat.com.
Courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics Communications Department
