May 21, 2017 NCAA Championships Day Two Results and Statistics 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Positioned just about where it was two years ago, the Baylor women's golf team is in fifth place going into the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championships and nine shots above the cut line to qualify for match play.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Led by sophomore Dylan Kim's 1-under-par 71, the Bears shot 12-over 300 in Sunday's second round at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., and sit in fifth at 35-over 611, just four strokes behind second-place Kent State in the 24-team tournament.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹With the top eight teams qualifying for match play, Baylor has a nine-shot lead on Texas and Arizona, who are tied for ninth and one spot below the cut line.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹"Going forward, we just have to continue to play our game," coach Jay Goble said. "We have a great team, and we're through two rounds. We have a very solid start, and we're right in the hunt. We just have to come out (Monday) and play golf like we know how to play golf."
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Kim, one of just five players to break par, moved up 25 spots and is tied for eighth at 5-over 149 after making four birdies and knocking in an eagle on the par-4 12th with a short approach shot from 100 yards out.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹"I didn't actually see it because it was a blind shot," Kim said. "I hit a 3-wood off that tee, actually, and I just hit a perfect shot. It was actually an uncomfortable yardage for me, and I normally don't love that shot, but I actually managed to hit it really, really well. It was perfect. And then everyone was waving at me, saying that it went in. It was fun, it was really nice."
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Baylor's 300 was just two shots off the best round of the day and tied for the fourth best in the field. Northwestern has the 36-hole lead at 23-over 599, followed by Kent State (31-over, 607), top-ranked Stanford (33-over, 609), Ohio State (34-over, 610), Baylor (35-over, 611), South Carolina (37-over, 613), sixth-ranked USC (42-over, 618) and Miami in the eighth spot at 43-over 619.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Although temperatures dipped considerably later in the day, the scores were much lower than Friday's opening round when it rained off and on all day.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹"The conditions, even though it's cold, are a little bit better than playing in the rain," Goble said. "They played great. It's hard to go low out here, and they just fought for every shot."
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Five shots behind individual leader Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest (even-par 144), Kim said she struggled as the weather dipped, "but I kept my head up and I'm really proud of that."
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹As far as Monday's final round of stroke play, she doesn't plan to change anything. "I'm happy with the way I played today. Just try to move past the bogeys and minimize those mistakes."
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Junior Amy Lee bogeyed three of the first five holes, but strung together 12 pars and a birdie on the par-5 11th to shoot 2-over 74 and move up five spots to a tie for 14th at 7-over 151. Sophomore Maria Vesga carded two birdies on the back nine and matched Lee's score at 2-over 74, jumping 12 spots to a tie for 21st at 8-over 152.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Eight-over through the first 12 holes, senior Maggie Beth Byers pulled it together with a birdie and three pars over the closing holes and had the Bears' last scoring round at 9-over 81, while freshman Fiona Liddell had a double-bogey on the last hole and shot 13-over 83.
ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¹Paired with Ohio State and South Carolina in the next-to-last groupings off No. 1, Baylor's five golfers will tee off for Monday's round between 11:45 a.m. and 12:29 p.m. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
THE RUNDOWN
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. -- Baylor women's golf is in fifth place after shooting 12-over-par 300 in Sunday's second round at the NCAA Championships. BU sits at 35-over 611 heading to Monday's final round, nine strokes in front of the current eight-team cut to advance to match play.
Baylor's 12-over was two strokes back of the best round through two days at the Championships. Northwestern and Stanford shot 10-over, and Ohio State carded 11-over, while South Carolina equaled BU at 12-over on Sunday.
No. 17 Baylor (+35) trails only No. 12 Northwestern (+23), No. 14 Kent State (+31), No. 1 Stanford (+33) and No. 25 Ohio State (+34) heading to the final round of stroke play. The other teams above the current cut line are No. 11 South Carolina (+37), No. 6 USC (+42) and No. 13 Miami (+43). No. 16 Texas (+44) and No. 7 Arizona State (+44) are tied for ninth, one stroke back of the cut.
The field was originally scheduled to cut to 15 teams before Monday's round, but all 24 teams will play because Saturday's round was cancelled. The top eight teams advance to Tuesday's match play to determine the national champion. A trio of top 10-ranked teams trail the cut by at least 15 strokes. No. 8 Duke (+58) is 15 shots back in 19th place, No. 5 Florida State (+59) is 16 strokes behind in 20th place, and No. 2 Alabama (+65) is 22 shot back in 21st place.
Additional teams in the running are No. 24 Purdue (+45) in 11th place, followed by No. 3 Florida (+46), No. 35 North Carolina (+48), No. 9 Furman (+49), No. 21 California (+49), No. 28 Michigan (+54), No. 44 Michigan State (+57) and No. 37 Clemson (+57). The third Big 12 team in the field, No. 30 Texas Tech (+70), is in 22nd place.
Baylor's best round of the day came from redshirt sophomore Dylan Kim, who carded a 1-under 71 to finish the day tied for eighth individually at 5-over 149. Kim made four birdies, including one on No. 18 to close her round, and she eagled the 341-yard, par-4 12th hole by draining her approach from approximately 100 yards. She is five strokes back of the individual lead held by Wake Forest's Jennifer Kupcho (E).
Junior Amy Lee recovered from a slow start with three bogeys on the first five holes by making 12 pars and a birdie over the next 13 holes to shoot 2-over 74. She sits tied for 14th place at 7-over-par 151. Sophomore Maria Vesga also shot 2-over 74, and she's tied for 21st place at 8-over 152.
Senior Maggie Beth Byers trimmed six shots off her first round by carding a 9-over 81 for the Bears' final counting score of the day. Freshman Fiona Liddell shot 11-over 83 and is tied for 86th place at 17-over, while Byers is tied for 123rd at 24-over.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Baylor's 12-over 300 tied the fourth-best round of the tournament. Only Northwestern (298), Stanford (298) and Ohio State (299) recorded better rounds.
- Dylan Kim's 71 was her fourth career below-par round in the NCAA Tournament. She's played 12 career NCAA Tournament rounds (seven in 2015, five in 2017).
- Kim's 71 also tied the fourth-best round by a Baylor player at the NCAA Championships.
- Baylor ranks fourth in the 24-team field in par-4 scoring at 36-over 4.36.
- Baylor's 102 pars are third-most in the tournament, trailing only Northwestern (118) and North Carolina (106).
- Kim is tied for sixth in par-5 scoring at 3-under 4.63 and tied for ninth in par-4 scoring at 4-over 4.20.
- Maria Vesga is also tied for ninth in par-4 scoring at 4-over 4.20.
- Amy Lee is tied for 13th in par-4 scoring at 5-over 4.25 and tied for 20th in par-5 scoring at 1-under 4.88.
- Vesga and Lee are tied for fifth in the 132-player field with 24 pars over 36 holes.
- Kim leads the team and is tied for 10th in the tournament with five birdies, four of which came in Sunday's second round.
- Kim was one of only three players to birdie No. 1 on Sunday, which played as the toughest hole on the course with a +0.71 scoring average.
STAT OF THE DAY
11-over -- Baylor's five players combined to shoot 11-over on the front-nine in the second round. BU played those same holes at 23-over in Friday's first round.
TOP QUOTE
"This afternoon was the tougher wave," head coach Jay Goble said. "Going forward, we just have to continue to play our game. We have a great team, and we're through two rounds. We have a very solid start and we're right in the hunt. We just have to come out tomorrow and play golf like we know how to play golf. The conditions are a little bit better than playing in the rain. They played great. It's hard to go low out here and they just fought for every shot."
WHAT'S NEXT
Monday's final round of stroke play begins at 6:45 a.m. CT for teams in 13th through 24th place and at 11:45 a.m. for teams in first through 12th place. Baylor begins at 11:45 a.m. from the first tee in pairings with players from Ohio State and South Carolina. Byers is up first, and she'll be followed in 11-minute intervals by Liddell, Vesga, Lee and Kim, respectively. Live scoring is available at www.GolfStat.com. Follow @BaylorWGolf on Twitter and Facebook for updates throughout the season.
