Sept. 25, 2011

Dick McGuire Invitational Results (First and Second Rounds)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -Six strokes behind the leader, the Baylor women's golf team is tied for fourth place Sunday after two rounds at the 32nd Branch Law Firm / Dick McGuire Invitational.

Baylor and San Diego State were tied for second place through 18 holes and both teams posted matching first- and second-round scores to finish at 8-over (294-298=592). Northwestern (2-over 586) owns a two-stroke lead over second-place Denver (4-over 588), followed by TCU in third place at 5-over 589.

"Honestly, it was a very successful day in a lot of way," first-year head coach Jay Goble said. "It's the best I've seen our team - as a whole - hit the ball. Our ball-striking Sunday was very good.

"Hayley (Davis) hit 34-of-36 greens in regulation, Valerie (Sternebeck) hit 33 and Chelsey (Cothran) hit a ton, too," Goble said. :It's good to see such good ball-striking and be able to take that positive into the final round."

Freshman Hayley Davis is one of only nine golfers under-par after 36 holes. Davis shot a first-round 1-under 72, followed by an even-par 73 to finish the day in a five-way tie for fifth at 1-under.

"It was a frustrating day on the greens for everyone," Goble said. "There were a lot of missed putts. It's tough to see birdies not dropping."

Davis was under-par through the latter stages of the first round and dropped as low as 2-under after back-to-back birdies on holes No. 4 and 5. A bogey on No. 8 pushed her back to 1-under, where she would finish the first round. The Wimborne, England, native was over-par for only two holes Sunday. In the second round, she bogeyed the par-3 No. 7 and would par the par-4 No. 8 before a birdie on No. 9 helped her finish at even-par 73.

Chelsey Cothran trails Davis by two strokes and is tied for 12th overall at 1-over 147. After carding four birdies and five bogeys in the first round, Cothran managed to par 16 holes in the second round, while posting one birdie and one bogey.

Seniors Jaclyn Jansen and Valerie Sternebeck are each tied for 24th overall at 4-over 150. Making her collegiate debut, true freshman Emma Carberry is tied for 58th at 8-over 154, while Stani Schiavone is tied for 88th at 16-over 162.

The final round of the Branch Law Firm / Dick McGuire Invitational will tee off Monday at 9 a.m. CDT. Live scoring will be available on www.GolfStat.com.