ATHENS, Ga. -- Furman senior Anna Morgan (-4) is tied for third after Tuesday's second round of the NCAA Athens Regional at the par-72, 6,347 yard University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.
The 2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year, Morgan, a native of Spartanburg, S.C., teed off on No. 10 and birdied No. 18 to turn at 1-over. She was steady on the front nine with eight pars and a birdie on No. 17 to finish the round at even par. Morgan is four strokes behind leader Jenny Bae (-8) of Georgia, who ranks fifth nationally and leads the tournament with a two-round total of 69-67=136.
"I was just trying to stay in contention today," said Morgan. "I hit some not-so-great shots but was able to manage what I had. Although I didn't necessarily have my best stuff today, I still managed to get a good score out of it. Sometimes days like today can be a little bit better than a low score. Obviously, I love shooting a low score, but showing that I am able to manage not my best stuff and put a good score up is nice."
"Golf is an individual sport, but it's a team sport, too," continued Morgan. "I think we'll get some good work in this afternoon and try and go out and put a good score up tomorrow. You never know what can happen, but all the same time once you're out on the course, the only thing you can control is yourself. I just want to play the best I can to give my team the best opportunity to advance."
Freshman Chloe Johnson (+5) carded a 77 in Tuesday's round and is tied for 28th, while freshman Liza Lapeyre (+10) posted a 77 with a team-high three birdies to tie for 48th. Lapeyre birdied two out of three holes from No. 4 through No. 6. Freshman Faith Johnson (+11) scored a 75 with a birdie on No. 1 and is tied for 50th, while junior Caroline Crumrine (+17) is in 63rd place after carding a 79 with a birdie on No. 15.
No. 30 Georgia (-15), the host team at the regional, holds a 10-stroke lead over No. 4 South Carolina (-5) with 18 holes to play. Ninth-ranked San Jose State (+7) is in third, followed by No. 33 Maryland (+13) in fourth place. Three teams are tied for fifth -- Augusta (+15), 23rd-ranked Ohio State (+15), and No. 16 Ole Miss (+15). Furman (+22) is tied for eight with Kansas (+22).
Furman will tee off of No. 10 at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and play in a group with Kansas and Ole Miss. The Paladins are part of an 12-team regional field that is battling for a top-five finish and a berth in the 30-team NCAA Championship, which will be held May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The top individual not on a qualifying team will also advance to the championship. The Athens Regional field includes four of the top 25 teams in the country, led South Carolina, which ranks fourth in the latest GolfStat rankings. No. 9 San Jose State, 16th-ranked Ole Miss, and No. 23 Ohio State are also competing in Athens.
The Paladins, which secured the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by capturing their 20th league championship last month at Moss Creek's South Course in Hilton Head, S.C., are making their 24th NCAA Regional appearance. Furman appeared in 17-straight regionals from 1993, when the regional format began, until 2010.
The Furman team finished sixth at the NCAA Stillwater Regional last season in Stillwater, Okla., and Morgan tied for fifth to advance as an individual to the NCAA Championship.
Live scoring of the NCAA Athens Regional is available at http://www.golfstat.com or by logging onto http://www.furmanpaladins.com.
T8 Furman 297 301 598 +13
T3 Anna Morgan (1) 68 72 140 -4
T28 Chloe Johnson (2) 72 77 149 +5
T48 Liza Lapeyre (5) 77 77 154 +10
T50 Faith Johnson (3) 80 75 155 +11
63 Caroline Crumrine (4) 82 79 161 +17
