ORLANDO, Fla. – Duke University freshman
Leona Maguire carded a six-under-par, 66, Monday to pace the seventh-ranked Blue Devils in round two of the Annika Intercollegiate, which is being played at the 6,247-yard, par 72 Watson Course at the Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla.
Maguire, who is a native of Cavan, Ireland, turned in a bogey-free round with six birdies to jump into second place on the individual leaderboard. She will enter the final round only two shots off the lead of eight-under-par held by South Carolina's Justine Dreher. Maguire's round was one away from matching the lowest 18-hole ledger by a Duke freshman.
With the Blue Devils opening the day on hole 10, Maguire got off to a fast start with birdies on No. 11, No. 12 and No. 13 to move to three-under-par. She nearly had a hole-in-one on the 170-yard, par three 12th as the ball stopped just inches from the cup, while Maguire was a six inches from holing out on the 13th as well.
She carded her fourth birdie on No. 16 and hit her first seven greens before going into the fairway bunker on No. 18. Maguire was able to get up and down from 100 yards for par to make the turn at 32. She played the back nine at two-under-par with birdies on No. 2 and No. 8. Maguire hit 16 greens, 12 fairways and had 29 putts.
As a team, Duke will enter the final round only seven shots off the lead, after carding a team-best two-under-par ledger Monday. The Blue Devils have totaled rounds of 293 and 286 for a total of 579. South Carolina (572), Arizona (573), Northwestern (575), Southern California (578), Oklahoma State (579), Stanford (579), Duke (579), UCLA (584), Alabama (584), Pepperdine (588), Arizona State (591) and Vanderbilt (591) round out the entire field.
For the second straight day, junior
Celine Boutier registered a one-under-par, 71, and sits tied fourth overall with a 142. She held a one-under-par score over the first six holes before suffering a bogey on No. 7, but responded with a birdie on the 515-yard, par five eighth hole to get back to one-under-par. Boutier, who is from Montrouge, France, netted another birdie on No. 2 to move to two-under, but a bogey on No. 4 dropped her back to one-under. She closed the day with five straight pars to finish with a 71. Boutier hit 14 greens, 10 fairways and had 31 putts.
Sophomore
Sandy Choi turned in a 76 Monday and dropped to tied 40th overall with a 149. Choi, who hails from Seoul, South Korea, couldn't get her putter going for the second straight day as she finished with 35 putts. She had five bogeys on the morning along with a birdie on No. 17. Choi also hit 13 greens and all 14 fairways.
After opening her second round with a double-bogey on the 356-yard, par four 11th hole, freshman
Lisa Maguire settled down to play her final 16 holes at one-under-par as she finished with birdies on No. 12, No. 16 and No. 3. Maguire, who is from Cavan, Ireland, suffered back-to-back bogeys on No. 4 and No. 5 to drop her to one-over for the day. She closed with four consecutive pars for a 73. Maguire enters the final round tied 44th with a 150.
Junior
Yi Xiao notched a round of 79 Monday, after posting three birdies. A product of China, Xiao was hurt with two triple-bogeys in the second round on the ninth and 13th. For the day, she hit 11 fairways, nine greens and had 26 putts.
Duke will tee off Tuesday in the final round beginning at 8:00 a.m., along with UCLA and Alabama.
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