COLUMBUS, Ohio – A second-round 79 (+7) pushed Old Dominion women's golf junior Leah Onosato down the leaderboard and into a tie for 21st at 5-over 149 at the NCAA Columbus Regional, hosted by Ohio State University at the par-72, 6,358-yard OSU Golf Club Scarlet Course. Onosato entered the day tied for second after carding a 2-under 70 in the opening round.
"The golf course really showed its teeth today," head coach Mallory Hetzel said. "It was much colder today, and the wind was up. The average score was 77.5, which shows just how tough it played for everyone. Leah battled hard and is still in great shape with one round to go. Right now, she's two shots behind the cut to make the National Championship. What an opportunity we have tomorrow! She's going to give it her best, and all of ODU should be very proud of her efforts."
The native of Kumamoto, Japan logged 13 pars in the second round, including four-straight to conclude her day. She now has 23 pars over the first two rounds, which is tied for 24th among the field of 90-plus individuals. Onosato is also tied for 15th in the field in par-5 scoring (-1).
No. 55-ranked Jenny Bae of Georgia shot up six spots on the leaderboard into first place at 5-under 139 on the strength of a 4-under 68 on Tuesday, the low round of the tournament thus far. No. 80 Monet Chun of Michigan (-4), Isabella Holpfer of Georgia (-2) and 25th-ranked Caley McGinty of Kent State (-1) are the only other players under par for the tournament. Bae, Chun, Holpfer and Kentucky's Maria Villanueva were the only four players to post a sub-par round on Tuesday as the Scarlet Course played nearly two strokes harder on Tuesday than in the opening round.
A round-best even-par 288 bumped 18th-ranked Georgia atop the team leaderboard with a 36-hole mark of 577 (+1). No. 26 Michigan (584, +8) jumped No. 2 Duke (585, +9) and into second place. No. 15 Kent State (589, +13), No. 7 Arizona State (592, +16) and No. 37 Kentucky (593, +17) round out the top-six.
The top six teams and the low three individuals not on an advancing team from each regional site advance to the national championship, help May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The final round of the NCAA Columbus Regional is tomorrow. Onosato tees off at 9:50 a.m.
Team Leaderboard
1. No. 18 Georgia – 289-288—577
2. No. 26 Michigan – 288-296—584
3. No. 2 Duke – 287-298—585
4. No. 15 Kent State – 291-298—589
5. No. 7 Arizona State – 291-301—592
6. No. 37 Kentucky – 298-295—593
7. No. 11 Virginia – 296-299—595
8. No. 24 Vanderbilt – 297-300—597
9. No. 33 Oklahoma – 286-312—598
10. No. 30 Clemson – 299-303—602
11. Campbell – 298-306—604
12. No. 42 Illinois – 297-310—607
13. Coastal Carolina – 298-313—611
14. Washington – 296-316—612
T15. No. 46 New Mexico – 310-310—620
T15. No. 49 Nebraska – 307-313—620
17. Youngstown State – 322-318—640
18. Evansville – 323-335—658
Individual Top-10
1. No. 55 Jenny Bae (Georgia) – 71-68—139
2. No. 80 Monet Chun (Michigan) – 70-70-140
3. Isabella Holpfer (Georgia) – 72-70—142
4. No. 25 Caley McGinty (Kent State) – 70-73—143
T5. Maria Villanueva (Kentucky) – 73-71—144
T5. No. 19 Celina Sattelkau (Vanderbilt) – 72-72—144
T5. No. 73 Beth Lillie (Virginia) – 72-72—144
T5. No. 37 Gina Kim (Duke) – 70-74—144
T5. Hailey Borja (Michigan) – 69-75—144
10. No. 4 Linn Grant (Arizona State) – 71-74—145
…
T21. Leah Onosato (ODU) – 70-79—149
Onosato in Tie for 21st after Second Round of NCAA Columbus Regional
