SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – No. 4 South Carolina went low on Saturday with a 276 (-12) in the second round of the NCAA Championship. The Gamecocks, who sit third, broke the 18-hole, program scoring record at NCAA finals in 20 all-time appearances.
“I was very pleased with our finish,” said head coach Kalen Anderson. “You have to finish strong. We give them that message quite a bit. Yesterday we did not take advantage of the par 5s very well – especially number seven. Our par-5 scoring wasn’t very strong, but today we definitely rectified that. We took advantage of the calm conditions in the morning. Scores were low today. We just have to keep on pace. We went out there and played really good golf on the back nine of our round. They finished strong and I am very pleased with where we stand right now. I am pleased with their effort.”
It marked the first time Carolina shot in the 270s at the NCAA Championship. It also marked the first time the Gamecocks had multiple counting scores in the 60s and all four counters in the 60s at the NCAA Championship.
It was a team effort as senior Mathilde Claisse, senior Justine Fournand, sophomore All-American Hannah Darling and freshman Mia Sandtorv Lussand all shot 69 (-3). Claisse and Darling both sit inside the top-10. Sophomore Louise Rydqvist shot 74 (+2) with two birdies and an eagle.
Carolina, who started on the back nine at 6:32 a.m. local time in the morning wave, made the turn at 2-under and went 10-under coming in on the front nine. The Gamecocks were 6-under as a team at the par-5 seventh hole with back-to-back eagles. Carolina leads the field with three eagles through 36 holes.
The Gamecocks are six shots clear of fourth place and tied No. 11 Texas for the second lowest round of the day. Top-ranked Stanford shot 273 (-15) to move five spots up the leaderboard into second place. The Gamecocks sit 22 shots ahead of 15th place Duke. The field will be cut to 15 teams for the medal round on Monday.
Carolina will be off in the favorable morning wave again on Sunday. The team will be paired with No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Wake Forest. Rydqvist is the first player off for the Gamecocks at 6:10 a.m. (ET) from hole one. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat again.
2023 NCAA Championship Gamecock Leaderboard
T6. Mathilde Claisse – 139 (-5)
T9. Hannah Darling – 140 (-4)
T17. Justine Fournand – 141 (-3)
T24. Mia Sandtorv Lussand – 142 (-2)
T112. Louise Rydqvist – 151 (+7)
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