May 9, 2017 NCAA Athens Regional Day Two Results and Statistics 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Even with a seemingly safe 14-shot cushion, Baylor women's golf coach Jay Goble won't rest easy.
Shooting a tournament-low 6-under-par 282 in Tuesday's second round at the NCAA Athens (Ga.) Regional, Baylor moved up three spots to second place behind third-ranked and top-seeded Alabama going into Wednesday's final round at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
Alabama has the 36-hole lead at 3-under 573, followed by Baylor (2-over, 578), Michigan State (5-over, 581), Clemson (10-over, 586) and a fifth-place tie between Northwestern and Tennessee at 12-over 588.
With the top six teams advancing to the NCAA Championship May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., the Lady Bears have a 14-shot cushion on the cut line, with the host Georgia team in seventh at 16-over 592.
"You're never home-free in regionals," said Goble, whose team is trying to make it back to the NCAA Championship for the third time in six years. "But, I feel confident that they're going to do well. Today was kind of the tell-tale day. It was a little more difficult, condition-wise, than it was the first day. And obviously, they handled it really well. They went out there and shot a great score. I think if they go out tomorrow and just play golf the way they know how, hit one shot a time as well as they can hit it, then they're going to be in good shape."
The biggest difference between Monday's 8-over 296 and Tuesday's 6-under 282 was the closing holes. After carding just two birdies and shooting 5-over for the last four holes on Monday, Baylor's four scoring golfers had eight birdies and shot 6-under over that same stretch in Tuesday's second round.
"That's something, honestly, we've struggled to do all year," Goble said. "We've played great rounds and great tournaments, but we've struggled to finish some of the days. And they did awesome today. They made a lot of birdies on the last four holes, which was fun. It's good to finish on a high note. That just gives us confidence for tomorrow that they finished the round off well. They're playing well and they're getting to know the course."
That's particularly true for freshman Fiona Liddell. She followed up an opening-round score of 7-over 79 with a 4-under 68 as she moved up 41 spots to a tie for 26th with senior Maggie Beth Byers at 3-over 147.
"She bogeyed No. 1 and went 5-under the rest of the day," Goble said. "She hit 17 greens, which that's fantastic to hit 17 greens on this golf course. To do that on this course, you can't ask for anything more. It's a challenging course all the way around, and she must have been in total control of her game today."
Junior Amy Lee birdied three of the last four holes in a round of 3-under 69 and moved into a tie for third at 3-under 141, leaving her three shots behind second-round leader Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest (6-under, 138).
"It always feels great to have a strong finish," Lee said. "I think my ball-striking was a bit more consistent today than yesterday. I just hit it close and converted the putts. Nothing felt too special today in my round, but I scrambled well. It would be a huge honor to win the individual title, but I can't think about that. I just have to play my own game and not worry about where anyone else is out on the course."
Redshirt sophomore Dylan Kim had an up-and-down round of 1-under-par 71 with four birdies and three bogeys, leaving her in a tie for 20th at 2-over 146.
Byers, who replaced freshman Cheerie Tan as the team's No. 5 golfer this week, counted her score for the second day in a row. She shot 1-over 73 on Monday and came back with a 2-over 74 in the second round, shooting even-par over the last 17 holes after opening with a double-bogey.
Including Sunday's practice round, Goble has walked 54 holes with Byers over the past three days and will stick with the same game plan for Wednesday's final round.
"It's a huge commitment to only walk with one player the whole tournament, but it seems to be working," Goble said. "(Assistant coach Ryan Ashburn) is doing a great job of making sure she gets to the rest of the players and helps them out on shots that they don't feel comfortable with. . . . We're not going to change a thing. I even wanted to go to the same restaurant."
Paired with Alabama and Michigan State for the final round, the Baylor players will tee off from No. 1 between 8:12 a.m. and 8:48 a.m. CDT. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
THE RUNDOWN
ATHENS, Ga. -- Baylor women's golf climbed three spots into second place after shooting a tournament-low 6-under-par 282 in Tuesday's second round at the NCAA Athens (Ga.) Regional. BU sits at 2-over 578 after 36 holes at University of Georgia Golf Course.
The six lowest-scoring teams following Wednesday's final round advance to the NCAA National Championships, which run May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. The Lady Bears have a 14-stroke lead over the current cut to make nationals.
No. 1 seed Alabama (-3) leads No. 5 Baylor (+2) by five strokes. No. 14 Michigan State (+5), No. 10 Clemson (+10), No. 3 Northwestern (+12) and No. 8 Tennessee (+12) round out the current six teams above the cut line. No. 2 Georgia (+16) is four strokes back of the cut, followed by No. 4 Arizona (+19), No. 11 Augusta (+20), No. 9 North Carolina (+23), No. 16 Princeton (+27), No. 12 Auburn (+27), No. 7 UCF (+27), No. 13 Kansas State (+31), No. 6 Wake Forest (+34), No. 15 Troy (+37), No. 17 North Florida (+42) and No. 18 Quinnipiac (+73).
Baylor's 6-under 282 was the fourth-lowest NCAA Tournament round in program history, and the three better rounds were during Baylor's only regional championship at the 2015 San Antonio (Texas) Regional.
Freshman Fiona Liddell trimmed 11 strokes off her first round score, shooting 4-under 68 in Tuesday's second round to climb 41 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 26th place at 3-over 147. Junior Amy Lee carded a 3-under 69 to move up eight spots into a tie for third place at 3-under 141, three strokes back of the individual leader, Wake Forest's Jennifer Kupcho (-6).
Redshirt sophomore Dylan Kim shot 1-under 71 to move up 10 spots into a tie for 20th place at 2-over 146, and senior Maggie Beth Byers fired a 2-over 74 and is tied for 26th place at 3-over 147. Sophomore Maria Vesga is tied for 46th place at 8-over 152 following a second consecutive 4-over 76.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Baylor's 6-under 282 was the fourth-best NCAA Tournament round in program history.
- BU's 282 tied Clemson's second round for the best score out of 36 team rounds played on the first two days at the NCAA Athens Regional.
- Fiona Liddell's 4-under 68 tied the seventh-best NCAA Tournament round in program history and trailed only Dylan Kim's 67 at the 2015 San Antonio Regional for best NCAA Tournament round by a Baylor freshman.
- Liddell's 4-under 68 was also her best collegiate round, topping the 3-under 69s she carded at the Dick McGuire Invitational and Ping/ASU Invitational.
- Amy Lee's 3-under 69 tied the 10th-best NCAA Tournament round in BU history.
- Baylor is the only team with four golfers among the top 30 individuals in the 96-player field. Lee is tied for third, Kim is tied for 20th and Byers and Liddell are tied for 26th place.
STAT OF THE DAY
8 -- Baylor players combined to make eight birdies and shoot 6-under-par over the final four holes in Tuesday's second round. Lee finished with three birdies over her final four holes, Kim birdied No. 15, and Liddell and Byers both birdied Nos. 15 and 18.
TOP QUOTE I
Head coach Jay Goble ...
"I'm very pleased with how we played today. It's really cool to see some people start to come around and play up their potential. I've said all year long we have an outstanding team talent-wise, we just need to put it all together at the same time. The big thing for tomorrow is to continue to play our games and control what we can control. We can't control what other people are doing, we can't control that scoreboard, so let's not look at it because it doesn't really mean anything until this time tomorrow. Let's go out tomorrow, play our games and hit every shot as well as we can hit it. We had a great round today that put us in a good position, and I'm confident that if we play our game tomorrow we're going to be fine."
TOP QUOTE II
Junior Amy Lee ...
"It always feel great to have a strong finish. I think my ball striking was a bit more consistent today than yesterday. I just hit it close and converted the putts, nothing really felt too special today in my round, but I scrambled well. It would be a huge honor to win the individual title, but I can't think about that. I just have to play my own game and not worry about where anyone else is out on the course."
TOP QUOTE III
Freshman Fiona Liddell ...
"It feels great. I played really well on my second nine yesterday, so I had a good feeling starting this round. I started out with my only bogey today, and I still felt pretty comfortable. I hit a lot of greens and had a lot of birdie chances, and I just told myself to stay patient on these greens. I was happy at the end and tomorrow I'm just going to continue where I stopped."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will play with No. 1 seed Alabama and No. 14 seed Michigan State in the last pairing off the first tee for Wednesday's final round. Vesga is up first at 8:12 a.m. CT, and she'll be followed in nine-minute intervals by Byers, Liddell, Kim and Lee, respectively. Live scoring is available at www.GolfStat.com. Follow @BaylorWGolf on Twitter and Facebook for updates throughout the season.
