Arkansas in the Top Five After 36 Holes at NCAA Championship
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Arkansas women’s golf (T4, E) entered the clubhouse with an even 576 and tied for seventh after 36 holes at the NCAA Championship. The Hogs moved into the top five and tied for fourth after the afternoon wave completed play on Saturday night.
Maria Jose Marin (T7, -4) surged 34 spots up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 68 and sits in tied for seventh place. The defending national champion is two shots off the three co-leaders.
As a team, the Razorbacks shot 2-over in the second round in the presence of thick air and slow greens. The squad got off to a slow start on the front nine and was 3-over at the turn. Marin was the only Hog to record a birdie on the way out; she was 3-under with a clean card at the turn.
The Hogs finished much better on Saturday than they did on Friday, when they shot +4 over the final three holes, and closed the round 3-under on the last six holes.
Highlights from the round included Abbey Schutte’s (T46, +2) tee shot on the par-3 12th that was within six inches of the hole for birdie. Marin also found success on the par-3s with birdies on No. 3 and No. 8. Sara Brentcheneff (T46, +2) rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on the par-3 16th.
Senior Reagan Zibilski, playing in her final collegiate event, started the day 4-over through 14 holes before she birdied Nos. 15 and 18. She hit her approach on the par-5 18th hole to within a couple of feet for an easy tap-in for birdie to close her round.
Arkansas will tee off the third round from No. 10 for the second time this week, starting at 6:52 a.m. local time alongside Iowa State (T4, E) and SMU (T6, +1).
Sunday features the tournament’s first cut as the top 15 teams will advance to Monday’s fourth round. After Monday, the top eight teams will advance to match play on Tuesday.
The projected cutline to advance to Monday’s fourth round sits at 10-over, giving the Hogs a 10-stroke cushion. Stanford leads the field at 12-under.
Sunday Tee Times (CT)
8:52 a.m. – Swetha Sathish (T121, +8)
9:03 a.m. – Abbey Schutte (T46, +2)
9:14 a.m. – Sara Brentcheneff (T46, +2)
9:25 a.m. – Reagan Zibilski (T38, +1)
9:36 a.m. – Maria Jose Marin (T7, -4)
For more information on Arkansas women’s golf, follow @RazorbackWGolf on social media.
