No. 3 South Carolina Holds Firm in Second at SECs

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 3 South Carolina had another solid day at the SEC Championship and is in the hunt for the top seed in match play. The Gamecocks shot 290 (+2) and sit three shots behind No. 20 Auburn at the top of the leaderboard. No. 14 LSU is one shot behind Carolina.
 
“I’m proud of our team’s fight today,” said head coach Kalen Anderson. “It was a uncharacteristically challenging day from a ball striking perspective for our group, but our short games and attitudes were resilient. I continue to be impressed with the growth of our team.”
 
Freshman Louise Rydqvist bounced back in a big way with a 1-under 71 to lead the team. She made three birdies and her only blemish on her scorecard was a double bogey at the par-5 11^th. Rydqvist climbed 26 spots on the leaderboard and is T-16^th at 3-over for the tournament. She made one of just two birdies all day at the difficult par-4 14^th after stuffing inside three-feet from a fairway bunker.
 
Junior transfer Justine Fournand shot 72 (E). She was 1-over with four holes to play and made her third birdie of the round at the par-4 15^th to get back to even. She’s inside the top-10, T-7^th alongside freshman teammate Hannah Darling at 1-over for the tournament. Darling shot 74 (+2) today, closing with a birdie at the par-5 18^th hole.
 
Junior Mathilde Claisse battled all day and grinded out a 1-over 73. She scrambled on the final hole and made an impressive par, punching out from a heavily wooded area after flying the green long on her second shot. She nearly holed out from the bunker for birdie. Claisse is T-11^th at 2-over. Graduate transfer Tai Anudit shot 77 (+5). She’s T-30^th at 5-over.

Auburn’s Megan Schofill leads by one shot at 7-under overall in the individual medalist race. She shot 67 (-5) today. Tennessee’s Mikayla Bardwell is one shot back after firing a 9-under 63 today. Only six players sit under par in the 70-player field.
 
The Gamecocks are the only team in the field with four players inside the top-20. The team leads the field with 128 pars. Carolina will be off at the same time tomorrow. Anudit will lead things off for the Gamecocks at 10:40 a.m. (ET) on hole one.
 
2022 SEC Women’s Golf Championship R2 Leaderboard
1. No. 20 Auburn – 576 (E)
2. No. 3 South Carolina – 579 (+3)
3. No. 14 LSU – 580 (+4)
4. No. 10 Florida – 588 (+12)
5. No. 23 Ole Miss – 590 (+14)
6. No. 40 Vanderbilt – 591 (+15)
7. No. 9 Alabama – 592 (+16)
8. No. 29 Mississippi State – 593 (+17)
9. No. 22 Kentucky – 594 (+18)
T10. Tennessee – 595 (+19)
T10. No. 19 Arkansas – 595 (+19)
12. No. 11 Texas A&M – 597 (+21)
13. No. 27 Georgia – 598 (+22)
14. Missouri – 615 (+39)
 
2022 SEC Women’s Golf Championship R2 Gamecock Leaderboard
T7. Hannah Darling – 145 (+1)
T7. Justine Fournand – 145 (+1)  
T11. Mathilde Claisse – 146 (+2)
T16. Louise Rydqvist – 147 (+3)  
T30. Tai Anudit – 149 (+5)  
 
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