May 19, 2005
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri Women's Golf squad fired its best round of the 2005 NCAA Women's Golf Championships on Thursday with a 296 on the day to move into a tie for 13th. The Tigers are only one stroke out of the top 10 in their first appearance ever at the Championships with a total of 903. Conditions have been predominantly cool and windy in Bend, OR, at the par-71, 6,312-yard Meadows Course at the Sunriver resort, but teams were able to take advantage of the nicest afternoon of the tournament so far this week as 17 of the 24 squads fired sub-300 scores on the day with Duke taking sole possession of the lead with a total of 873.
"We were extremely solid from tee to green today and really struck the ball well," fourth-year head coach Stephanie Cooper said. "We had several opportunities to make birdie but the putts just weren't falling the way we were hoping. However we were still able to put together a really solid round. We'll see how the final round plays out tomorrow but I think we have the ability to make a run into the top 10 if we can knock down some putts."
Senior Mindy Bullard continued to be Mizzou's most consistent performer so far during the Championships as she fired her lowest round of the tourney with a three-over par 74. With that outstanding total, she moved into a tie for 43rd heading into the final round with a total of 226. Bullard had three birdies on the day.
Fellow senior Maria Ohlsson was also on fire on Thursday as she improved on her second round total by seven strokes. Ohlsson shot a one-over par 72 on the day to finish with a total of 227 after three rounds. Junior Denise Knaebel also had her best round of the tourney with a 74 and joins Ohlsson in a tie for 52 at 227. Junior Kelli Strubinger had a good day as she shot a second straight 76 to finish with a total of 229 and is in a tie for 67th. Freshman Madde Augustsson had a tough day on the links as she fired an 81 to fall into a tie for 84th after having a brilliant second round of 74 on Wednesday.
The Tigers open play in tomorrow's fourth and final round at 8:50 pm (10:50 CST) and will play with teams from Michigan State and Big 12 rival Oklahoma State. Live scoring and a complete recap will be made available tomorrow at www.mutigers.com via www.golfstat.com.