East Lansing, Mich. – Entering the third round before the first cut of the NCAA Championships needing to make up five shots, Michigan State’s women’s golf team climbed up the standings over the first 14 holes but fell short, tying for 17th place among 30 teams on Sunday afternoon at the La Costa Champions Course in Carlsbad, Calif.
The top-15 teams and nine individuals (not on advancing teams) after three rounds of stroke play qualifying advance to play a final 18 holes on Monday, May 20 to determine the individual champion and the top eight teams will advance to match play.
After playing in the morning round in Friday’s first round and finishing the day in 12th place, the Spartans teed off in the afternoon in both the second and third rounds, respectively, on Saturday and Sunday and battled strong winds on the par-72, 6,297-yard course in Southern California.
“We played the back nine again, which was the toughest for sure, especially when it’s windy,” Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. “So we played the toughest nine in the windiest conditions, but that’s the way it goes. We made the turn and started making some birdies and we were back in the top-15, struggled down the stretch and just couldn’t finish.
“It was disappointing because I feel like this team is tough and strong. It’s tough when you’re so close to a goal and we would have made history for our program, but we do have two individuals who will get a chance to play for an individual championship. All in all, we made it and there were 243 teams that didn’t, so I’m very proud and we’re proud of what we accomplished.”
Texas A&M continues to lead the championship and enters Monday’s final round of stroke play atop the leaderboard at 10-under par 854, one stroke ahead of second-place Stanford (9-under par 855). LSU is third at 1-under par 863, with Clemson fourth at 2-over par 866 and Northwestern rounds out the top-five teams at 9-over par 873.
Only six strokes separated 11th-place Duke (19-over par 883) and 15th-place Florida State (25-over par 889). The Spartans tied for 17th place at 28-over par 892 (288-304-300).
Despite the team not advancing to the final round, senior Leila Raines and junior Katie Lu were among the top nine individuals not on advancing teams and will play for the individual championship on Monday. This is the second-straight year…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Michigan State University Athletics…