April 22, 2017

2017 SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
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HOOVER, Ala. – Senior Katelyn Dambaugh continued to lead the Gamecocks at the 2017 SEC Championship after carding a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round at Greystone Golf & Country Club. The Goose Creek, S.C., native’s performance put her two strokes off the individual lead at 6-under 138 through two rounds. No. 11 South Carolina, which posted a 290 (+2) on day two, sits in sixth place with a 36-hole mark of 576 (E).

Eighth-ranked Florida turned in an 8-under 280 to climb atop the leaderboard with a two-round total of 564 (-12), while No. 6 Georgia (569, -7) and No. 13 Arkansas (570, -6) round out the top three spots of the leaderboard. Harang Lee of the Bulldogs holds the individual lead at 8-under 136.

An eagle on the par-4 seventh keyed Dambaugh’s day and led to the senior’s second-straight under-par round. The Carolina standout holed out from 88 yards after spinning the ball back towards the pin, which was positioned at the back of the green. Dambaugh made the turn at 2-under 34 before notching pars on each of her final nine holes. A key sand save on the par-3 17th preserved the 72 for the senior, who leads the Gamecocks with 27 pars this week.

Freshman Ana Pelaez continued her steady play for Carolina Saturday, posting a 1-over 73. She tallied 13 pars on her round and added birdies on No. 8 and her final hole of the afternoon, the par-5 18th. Pelaez sits just outside the top-10 in a tie for 11th with a 36-hole score of 143 (-1).

Ainhoa Olarra also carded a second-round 73 (+1) after tallying another pair of late birdies. A great approach shot on the par-4 16th led to her second birdie of the day, and she added another one minutes later on No. 17. Olarra, who will head into the final round in a tie for 40th (149, +5), registered 11-straight pars during her round after opening the day with bogeys on three of her first four holes.

Sophomore Marion Veysseyre and senior Jia Xin Yang both fired a 2-over 74 in round two. Veysseyre (T27, +2) was steady for much of her day, totaling 14 pars to go with birdies on Nos. 2 and 11, while Yang (T51, +7) notched both of her birdies on her back nine after tallying ones on the par-5 11th and par-4 14th.

Quoting Coach Kalen Anderson

Round Changer

Notable

• South Carolina’s 121 pars through two days at the SEC Championship rank fourth in the 14-team field.
• The Gamecocks’ two-round total of 576 (E) is their lowest 36-hole score at the SEC Championship since 2002 (571) when they won the conference tournament.
• Senior Katelyn Dambaugh has broken par in each of her last four rounds at the SEC Championship. She entered this week with an under-par stroke average at the conference tournament.
• Dambaugh’s 138 (-6) was two strokes shy of the lowest 36-hole mark ever at the SEC Championship. She also boasted a two-round total of 138 at the event in 2015.

Up Next

South Carolina concludes play at the SEC Championship Sunday. The Gamecocks will play with Tennessee and get their day started at 10:56 a.m. CT on No. 1.