NORMAN, Okla. — Texas Tech remained in contention at the NCAA Norman Regional on Tuesday as the Red Raiders moved into a tie for sixth place following a 6-over-par 294 second round at Jimmy Austin OU Golf Club.
The Red Raiders will need a strong final round Wednesday in order to become one of the six advancing schools to the NCAA Championships. Tech is tied with Ole Miss at 5-over for the tournament, which is one stroke better than Mississippi State in eighth place and two behind fifth place Arizona State.
“We got off to a slow start unlike yesterday, but I thought we played well,” Tech head coach JoJo Robertson said. “The course played tougher than it did yesterday. They had some pins in some tough spots with this wind. Our team fought hard and hung in there. I was proud of how they fought today.”
Anna Dong continued her strong play to post Tech’s lowest round of the day, firing a 1-under 71 that featured birdies on two of her final four holes – the par-3 15th and the par-5 18th. Dong is now 1-under for the tournament and in a tie for 18th place with Sofia Garcia.
Mami Yamamoto, meanwhile, notched her second-consecutive even par round to move into a tie for 22nd place, only a stroke back of both Garcia and Dong. Dating back to her 2016 freshman season, Yamamoto has now produced an even par or better card in in six of her 11 rounds at NCAA Regional sites.
Garcia started her round with 12-consecutive pars before finishing 2-over on the day. Louisa Brunt chipped in Tech’s final contributing score with a 5-over round, while Cecilie Nielsen rounded out the lineup with a 9-over card.
“I think if we are able to play (Wednesday), we need to continue what we’ve done,” Robertson said of Tech’s final round outlook. “We’ve had two of our lowest tournament scores of the season this week, which is incredible. It’s the highest pressure tournament of the year. The things we’ve talked about all year and what we’ve worked on prior to this tournament are really starting to pay off now.”
Texas overtook the tournament lead as the top-seeded Longhorns combined for a 7-under card to move to 8-under for the tournament. Florida is in second place a stroke back of Texas, while Purdue is in third at 2-under followed by Wake Forest in fourth at 1-under overall.
The tournament will move to a 9 a.m. shotgun start Wednesday morning as inclement weather is forecasted for the Norman area. Live scoring will be provided throughout the round at www.Golfstat.com.
(Courtesy: Texas Tech Sports Communications Department)