No. 9 Women’s Golf Holds 4-Shot Lead Going Into Final Round at NCAA Las Vegas Regionals

LAS VEGAS – The No. 9 Arkansas women’s golf team shot an 8-under 280 for the second straight round at the NCAA Las Vegas Regionals to hold onto a four-shot lead over Purdue going into the final round on Wednesday. Two Hogs shot rounds in the 60s, led by Kendall Todd’s career-low 6-under 66, which ties Kajal Mistry’s round yesterday for the second lowest round at an NCAA Regional by a Razorback. Mistry shot a 3-under 69 on Tuesday and stands one shot behind the lead, which is 10-under 134.

Todd was rolling the rock in the second round, logging seven birdies and just one bogey with 10 pars. Her career-low 66 jumped her up 14 spots on the leaderboard to go into the final round with a 5-under 139 (73-66). Todd had a flawless back nine, which was highlighted by back-to-back birdies on her final two holes. The junior now has three rounds in the 60s and 14 rounds at par or better this season. She is tied for the most birdies (11) and has the third best par 5s average (4.50) in the field.

Mistry earned her seventh round in the 60s on the season with her 3-under 69. She had four birdies, including on three consecutive holes from 9-11, and just one bogey with 13 pars. At 9-under 135, which ties a career-low 36 holes score, Mistry is one shot back from Florida State’s Lottie Woad, who has a 10-under 134 (67-67). Mistry has the best par 4s average in the field at 3.65.

Maria José Marin shot a 1-under 71 for her 19th round at par or better this season. The freshman started the day strong with an eagle on the first hole, in which she holed out from 86 yards. José Marin added a birdie on the eighth hole, two bogeys and 14 pars. She is tied for fourth with Todd with a 5-under 139 (68-71). José Marin has the second-best par 4s average (3.75) in the field.

Miriam Ayora tallied a 2-over 74 on Tuesday. She finished the second round with three birdies, five bogeys and 10 pars, including one on the last hole that she par saved after hitting into a creek. At a tie for 25th, Ayora has a 3-over 147 (73-74). Reagan Zibilski shot a 4-over 76, which was highlighted by an eagle on 18, in which she hit a 10-foot putt. Zibilski added one birdie, 10 pars five bogeys and one double bogey to stand in a tie for 44th with a 6-over 150.

Arkansas leads the field in par 4s average (3.92), par 5s average (4.70) and eagles (3) over the past two days.

QUOTES

Kendall Todd, Junior

On what was working for her today after logging seven birdies:

“I was able to hit wedge shots pretty well and get myself opportunities for birdies and then sink some putts also, which really helped.”

On finishing strong tomorrow:

“We just have to keep doing what we are doing and stay strong and keep the vibes rolling into tomorrow.”

Shauna Taylor, Head Coach

On having a 4-shot lead going into Wednesday:

“I would love to get a third day at 8-under. No, really good. [It] was an absolute complete team effort. I can’t say enough about Kendall Todd today. I think she made some amazing, clutch putts, she scrambled when she needed to scramble, and it was a pleasure to watch. And then Kajal [Mistry], great job again playing in the one spot for us, excellent work by her. Then Majo [Maria José Marin] eagling her first hole and holding steady coming in. Just across the board, great teamwork and we have one more day to go, business trip and hopefully we put ourselves in a good position to do that.”

On finishing the round strong despite a tough back nine:

“We talk a lot about being a PRO, and that stands for patience, resilience and optimism, and that’s our goal this week to maintain that through the 54 holes. I think the hole locations on the backside were really tough, really tricky. We had a good plan going into it, but they still reared their head a little bit on the backside. They did a really good job of knowing where to hit it and giving them the best chance to score.”

ROUND TWO INDIVIDUAL SCORES

2 – Kajal Mistry – 66-69=135 (-9)
T4 – Kendall Todd – 73-66=139 (-5)
T4 – Maria José Marin – 68-71=139 (-5)
T25 – Miriam Ayora – 73-74=147 (+3)
T44 – Reagan Zibilski – 74-76=150 (+6)

ROUND TWO TEAM SCORES

1 – No. 9 Arkansas – 280-280=560 (-16)
2 – No. 33 Purdue – 284-280=564 (-12)
3 – No. 4 UCLA – 291-283=574 (-2)
4 – No. 19 Florida State – 283-292=575 (-1)
5 – No. 40 Baylor – 292-286=578 (+2)
6 – No. 46 Oklahoma – 294-285=579 (+3)
7 – No. 16 Arizona – 294-287=581 (+5)
8 – California – 301-288=589 (+13)
T9 – Colorado State – 298-296=594 (+18)
T9 – Kent State – 301-293=594 (+18)
11 – Dartmouth – 302-309=611 (+35)
12 – Xavier – 310-302=612 (+36)

ROUND THREE TEE TIMES OFF 1 (CT)

10 a.m. – Reagan Zibilski
10:11 a.m. – Miriam Ayora
10:22 a.m. – Maria José Marin
10:33 a.m. – Kendall Todd
10:44 a.m. – Kajal Mistry

UP NEXT

The Hogs will finish the tournament, tomorrow on Wednesday, teeing off from hole No. 1 at 10 a.m. CT with Purdue and UCLA.

MORE INFORMATION

Keep up with all of the latest news and information and get behind the scenes looks into our program on our social media accounts. Follow us on Twitter at @RazorbackWGolf and check out our Facebook page “Razorback Women’s Golf.” Stats, news and player information can be found at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.