The winds continued to blow Wednesday at Tulsa Country Club, and the University of Oklahoma remained in front at the Women’s Division I NCAA Championship.
Oklahoma began the day with a three-shot lead and maintained that margin at day’s end, as their total of 15-over 575 has them three shots clear of second-place Duke, ranked No. 3 nationally, and five shots ahead of No. 5 Arizona State.
The Sooners are paced by freshman Alexandra Kaui, who holds a three-shot lead in the individual competition after rounds of 68 and 67. The latter round included an eagle-2 when she holed a wedge from 118 yards on the par-4 15th hole.
“I try to think to myself that I’m still in the hunt and I have to keep pressing and keep playing and I try not to relax and think that I’m going to stay here,” Kaui told the media. “I try to always believe that I have two more days to keep this streak. I have to work to keep it.”
NCAA Women’s Division I Championships scoring
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Duke started the day five shots back but trimmed their deficit to three after a 5-over 285 total. The team was led by Celine Boutier, who carded her second straight round of even-par 70 and remains tied for fifth in the individual competition through two rounds.
“I thought I played pretty well throughout the course,” Boutier told reporters. “My putting was really good today, so that definitely helped me. I made a lot of birdies, I think I had five of them. That¹s pretty good with the conditions. Today was a pretty good day for me.”
A trio of Pac-12 teams are tied for fourth, nine shots behind Oklahoma, including top-ranked and defending national champion USC. The Trojans are led by Doris Chen, who followed an opening 67 with a 72, and remain tied with conference foes UCLA and Arizona at 24-over 584.
The low total of the day was turned in by Michigan State, who trimmed 22 shots off their opening-round total with a 3-over 283 in Round 2. The Spartans moved into a tie for ninth alongside Washington as a result, 13 shots behind Oklahoma. Other top teams include Stanford, alone in seventh place, and Mississippi State, one shot further back in eighth.
Only four players are under par through two rounds: Kaui at 5 under, Allyssa Ferrell (Michigan State) and Lauren Kim (Stanford) at 2 under and Chen (USC) at 1 under.