Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Big XII Championship
Dowdy Helps Tech to Big Second Day Improvement
April 26, 2008 | Women's Golf
April 26, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas - Backed by Megan Dowdy's second-round 76, Texas Tech women's golf improved by 16 strokes to move up one spot into seventh place with a plus-76 652 after day two of the Big 12 Women's Golf Championships. The Lady Raiders sit just two shots back of sixth-place Oklahoma.
After Mother Nature decided to leave its mark on the first day of competition at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla., golfers enjoyed fairly clear conditions for the duration of the second round. As a result, every team enjoyed a drop in its score. Few teams enjoyed as much of an improvement as did Tech, though. The Lady Raiders' 16-stroke differential from day one was the second-biggest improvement of the day and helped move them up a slot in the overall standings.
"Yesterday was crazy with the conditions and winds," Tech coach Stacey Totman said. "This course is very tough to play on anyway. There are a lot of rolling hills that make it very difficult. When you are only on this course a couple of days, it can be very intimidating. We played very well on it today. I was very pleased."
Dowdy shot consistently throughout the day, struggling on just one hole and birdying holes five and nine to finish the back nine. The Leander, Texas, product carded a four-over 76, a nine-stroke improvement from day one, to move up an impressive 21 spots into an 18th place tie going into the final round.
"Megan (Dowdy) played solid all day," Totman said. "A 76 to 78 is a good score on this course."
Other Tech golfers enjoyed drops in their scores as well. Freshman Robyn Scott dropped five strokes off her first-day total and shot consistently for most of the day to come in at 80 and move into a tie for 31st. Ulrika Van Niekerk and Stephanie Smith both tallied 81s for the afternoon. Van Niekerk joins Scott at 31st overall, while Smith stands alone at 44th. After firing the team's best score yesterday, Rosalyn Kim saw her score drop while struggling to an 89.
Tournament-host and No. 9 Oklahoma State leads the pack with a 29-over 605 on its home turf, while No. 22 Texas A&M (609) is 14 shots back in second. No. 50 Missouri (636) is in third with No. 21 Texas (640) and Nebraska (643) rounding out the top five. They are followed by the Sooners (650), Tech (652) and Iowa State (657), with Kansas (658), Kansas State (659), Colorado (673) and Baylor (682) rounding out the standings.
"If we play solid golf tomorrow, we'll have a good chance of moving up," Totman said. "We have to go out and be patient and eliminate some of the high numbers. If we can do that, we'll be in good shape."
Sunday's final round action is set to tee off at 9 a.m. CT. Live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
