The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championship
Women's Golf moves into first place at Big 12 Championship
04.23.2011 | Women's Golf
April 23, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Texas Women's Golf team (296-287) claimed the lead after the second round in the 2011 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship with a 7-over-par 583 total at the par 72, 6,234-yard course at The Club at Old Hawthorne. Sophomore Madison Pressel (71-66=137, -7) propelled UT with a 6-under 66 on the day that set a Big 12 Championship record for the lowest individual score in a round and holds a six-stroke cushion heading into Sunday's finale.
UT's combined score of 583 is the lowest after two rounds in the event's history. The Longhorns fired a 1-under 287 in the second round after shooting a 296 on Friday. UT is in the hunt for its third Big 12 Championship and first under fourth-year head coach Martha Richards.
Pressel's record-setting round included five birdies and her second eagle in as many days. On the front nine she drained birdies on five, seven and eight before making eagle on nine, her 27th hole of the event. She also recorded birdies on holes 14 and 17. Pressel has now held the lead or a share of the lead after 36 holes in each of her last two events. With a win, Pressel could join Heather Bowie (1997) as just the second player in Texas history to earn Big 12 Championship medalist honors.
Sophomore Haley Stephens (75-73) is tied for 19th place at 4-over 148. Stephens fought back from 4-over through seven holes of play to finish the day at 1-over. Her round included four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine.
Junior Nicole Vandermade (73-77) trails Stephens by two strokes at 150 and is tied for 28th place. Freshman Rebecca Lee-Bentham (77-74=151) and sophomore Katelyn Sepmoree (78-74=152) are tied for 34th and 36th places, respectively, at 7- and 8-over.
As a team, the Longhorns were a collective 8-under on the ninth and 10th holes today, including Pressel's eagle on nine.
Iowa State climbed from seventh to second with a round two score of 3-under 285, a record for the lowest second round score in the Championship's history. ISU sits two strokes behind Texas with at 9-over 585. Texas A&M and Missouri are knotted in third place with 12-over marks of 588.
Sunday's final round of the Big 12 Championship is scheduled for an 8 a.m. Central shotgun start due to forecasted thunderstorms. If three rounds of competition are not completed, the championship title will be determined by Saturday's 36-hole scores.
Team standings (through two rounds)
1. TEXAS - 296-287=583 (+7)
2. Iowa State - 300-285=585 (+9)
T3. Texas A&M - 298-290=588 (+12)
T3. Missouri - 297-291=588 (+12)
5. Texas Tech - 294-296=590 (+14)
6. Oklahoma - 298-293=591 (+15)
T7. Nebraska - 297-298=595 (+19)
T7. Baylor - 301-294=595 (+19)
9. Oklahoma State - 302-294=596 (+20)
10. Colorado - 302-297=599 (+23)
11. Kansas - 302-305=607 (+31)
12. Kansas State - 309-303=612 (+36)
Top-14 individuals (through two rounds)
1. Madison Pressel, TEXAS - 71-66=137 (-7)
T2. Jaclyn Jansen, Baylor - 72-71=143 (-1)
T2. Katerina Ruzickova, Texas A&M - 71-72=143 (-1)
T2. Prima Thammaraks, Iowa State - 74-69=143 (-1)
T2. Jessica Wallace, Colorado - 70-73=143 (-1)
T2. Mary Kate Bird, Nebraska - 74-69=143 (-1)
T2. Deborah DeVilla, Texas Tech - 71-72=143 (-1)
8. Josephine Janson, Oklahoma State - 73-71=144 (E)
9. Hannah Lovelock, Missouri - 71-74=145 (+1)
T10. Five individuals at 146 (+2)
Additional Texas individuals
T19. Haley Stephens - 75-73=148 (+4)
T28. Nicole Vandermade - 73-77=150 (+6)
T34. Rebecca Lee-Bentham - 77-74=151 (+7)
T36. Katelyn Sepmoree - 78-74=152 (+8)
POST-ROUND COMMENTS
Head Coach Martha Richards
On the team's performance: I felt good about our round today. We were really close to having a few more rounds at even or under-par, so tomorrow we just need to tighten up a few of our sloppy mistakes and eliminate the double bogeys. If we keep giving ourselves good looks at birdies, we'll be in good shape for tomorrow.
On sophomore Madison Pressel's round: Obviously, Madison played great. To shoot 66 and set an individual tournament record for one day is outstanding. She played some great golf out here.
