CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Junior
Erica Shepherd continued her solid play Saturday at the Tar Heel Invitational as she carded a 2-under-par, 70, and is in second place individually heading into the final round at the 6,393-yard, par-72 Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.
A product of Greenwood, Ind., Shepherd carded a career-best 36-hole ledger of 8-under-par, 136, and is only three shots behind Rachel Kuehn of Wake Forest, who sits at 11-under, 133. Coming off registering a career-low 66 on day one, Shepherd posted a 2-under, 70, on Saturday and is tied with Melena Barrientos of Clemson for second. Â
Shepherd opened day two with four pars, before rolling in a 6-footer for birdie on the 145-yard, par-3 fifth hole. She added seven more pars and then collected her second birdie on No. 13 with a 13-foot putt. After missing the fairway on the 404-yard, par-4 15th, Shepherd suffered her lone bogey of the day. She nearly drained another birdie on No. 17, but closed strong as she hit her 9-iron from 130 yards on the 18th and sank the four-foot birdie to finish with a 70. Shepherd hit 10 fairways, 15 greens and rolled 31 putts on Saturday. Â
Wake Forest holds the team lead with a 16-under, 560, while Virginia Tech (564), Clemson (565), Michigan (570), Vanderbilt (573), Duke (573), Alabama (573), Kentucky (574), North Carolina (577) and Mississippi State (577) round out the top 10 teams. The Blue Devils have carded rounds of 286 and 287 over the first two days. Â
Freshman
Rylie Heflin signed for a career-low 2-under-par, 70, as she moved up to tied for 27th with an even-par, 144. On Saturday, Heflin moved into the red early by draining a 5-foot birdie on the 522-yard, par-5 third hole. She then suffered back-to-back bogeys on No. 5 and No. 6 to drop to 1-over-par. As she was getting set to make the turn, Heflin hit her pitching wedge from 115 yards to 15 feet and sank the birdie to get back to even. She suffered another bogey on No. 11, but came back strong with her first collegiate eagle on the 481-yard, par-5 13th. From 210 yards out, Heflin hit her 3-hybrid to 20 feet and rolled in the putt to get back to 1-under. She closed with four pars and a six-foot birdie on No. 17. Heflin, who is from Avondale, Pa., hit 15 greens, 13 fairways and had 33 putts on the day. Â
"I definitely had a great session warming up this morning and that definitely gave me a lot of confidence," said Heflin. "While I was on the course, I just trusted everything and when I had a good hole I wouldn't get caught up in it and I would just build off of it. That really helped me. Yesterday, I struggled a little with putting and worked on it after the round yesterday. This morning I just felt much better about it and it was able to show on the course."
Continuing her solid play was sophomore
Anne Chen, who netted a 1-over, 73, and is tied for 23rd with a 143. Chen opened the day with three pars and then collected a 13-foot birdie to move to 1-under. She went on to make the turn with a 1-under, 35, as she sank a 23-foot birdie on No. 9. A native of Sugar Land, Texas, Chen played the back nine at 2-over-par to finish with a 73. She hit 10 fairways, 12 greens and had 32 putts. Â
Sophomore
Phoebe Brinker notched 14 pars on the day en route to a 2-over, 74. She was limited to only one birdie on Saturday, which came on the 388-yard, par-4 11th hole as she hit her pitching wedge from 124 yards to two feet and sank the putt. The Wilmington, Del., product hit 13 greens, eight fairways and had 33 putts. Â
With one of the best finishes for the Blue Devils in the second round, junior
Megan Furtney was even-par over her final nine holes with two birdies, two bogeys and five pars. Furtney, who hails from St. Charles, Ill., sank a 30-foot birdie on No. 15 and then hit her 54-degree wedge to 11 feet for birdie on No. 17. She was even par over seven holes on the front nine, but was 4-over on the other two holes as she finished with a 4-over, 76. She hit 11 greens, seven fairways and had 31 putts. Â
Duke will tee off Sunday beginning at 8:45 a.m., with a shotgun start off holes four, five, six and seven along with Vanderbilt, Alabama and Kentucky. Â
#GoDuke
Duke Results
1 T2
Erica Shepherd Duke 66 70      136 -8
T9 T23
Anne Chen Duke 70 73      143 -1
T53 T27
Rylie Heflin Duke 74 70      144 E
T71 T72
Phoebe Brinker Duke 76 74      150 +6
T93 T91
Megan Furtney Duke 83 76      159 +15
1 2 Team Scores
2Â 1 Wake Forest 283Â 277Â Â Â Â Â Â 560Â -16
1Â 2 Virginia Tech 282Â 282Â Â Â Â Â Â 564Â -12
T4Â 3 Clemson 285Â 280Â Â Â Â Â Â 565Â -11
T4Â 4 Michigan 285Â 285Â Â Â Â Â Â 570Â -6
T6Â T5 Vanderbilt 286Â 287Â Â Â Â Â Â 573Â -3
T6Â T5 Duke 286Â 287Â Â Â Â Â Â 573Â -3
T6Â T5 Alabama 286Â 287Â Â Â Â Â Â 573Â -3
3Â 8 Kentucky 284Â 290Â Â Â Â Â Â 574Â -2
9Â T9 North Carolina 289Â 288Â Â Â Â Â Â 577Â +1
11Â T9 Mississippi State 293Â 284Â Â Â Â Â Â 577Â +1
14Â 11 Michigan State 296Â 285Â Â Â Â Â Â 581Â +5
10Â 12 Furman 290Â 295Â Â Â Â Â Â 585Â +9
T12Â T13 UNCW 295Â 293Â Â Â Â Â Â 588Â +12
T12Â T13 North Carolina State 295Â 293Â Â Â Â Â Â 588Â +12
16Â 15 Ohio State 298Â 291Â Â Â Â Â Â 589Â +13
17Â 16 Maryland 299Â 291Â Â Â Â Â Â 590Â +14
15Â 17 SMU 297Â 294Â Â Â Â Â Â 591Â +15
19Â 18 Rollins College 301Â 295Â Â Â Â Â Â 596Â +20
18Â 19 North Carolina 300Â 309Â Â Â Â Â Â 609Â +33
Start Finish Player Team Scores
T9 1 Rachel Kuehn Wake Forest 70 63      133 -11
1 T2
Erica Shepherd Duke 66 70      136 -8
T9 T2 Melena Barrientos Clemson 70 66      136 -8
T9 4 Krista Junkkari North Carolina 70 68      138 -6
T18 T5 Hailey Borja Michigan 71 68      139 -5
T39 T5 Becca DiNunzio Virginia Tech 73 66      139 -5
T4 T5 Emily Mahar Virginia Tech 69 70      139 -5
T4 T8 Kayla Smith North Carolina 69 71      140 -4
T9 T8 Celina Sattelkau Vanderbilt 70 70      140 -4
T2 T8 Benedetta Moresco Alabama 68 72      140 -4
T18 T11 Julia Lopez Ramirez Mississippi State 71 70      141 -3
T4 T11 Haylin Harris * Michigan State 69 72      141 -3
T27 T11 Ivy Shepherd Clemson 72 69      141 -3
T27 T11 Polly Mack Alabama 72 69      141 -3
T18 T11 Mimi Rhodes Wake Forest 71 70      141 -3
T2 T11 Laney Frye Kentucky 68 73      141 -3
T53 T17 Hannah Levi Mississippi State 74 68      142 -2
T18 T17 Anna Morgan Furman 71 71      142 -2
T27 T17 Emilie Overas Alabama 72 70      142 -2
T39 T17 Jensen Castle Kentucky 73 69      142 -2
T9 T17 Carolina Lopez-Chacarra Wake Forest 70 72      142 -2
T18 T17 Maria Vittoria Corbi Maryland 71 71      142 -2
T9 T23 Tess Davenport Vanderbilt 70 73      143 -1
T9 T23
Anne Chen Duke 70 73      143 -1
T39 T23 Keera Foocharoen Virginia Tech 73 70      143 -1
T18 T23 Jillian Bourdage Ohio State 71 72      143 -1
T53 T27
Rylie Heflin Duke 74 70      144 E
T27 T27 Anika Dy Michigan 72 72      144 E
T27 T27 Callista Rice Clemson 72 72      144 E
T27 T27 Monet Chun Michigan 72 72      144 E
T18 T27 Savannah Grewal Clemson 71 73      144 E
T27 T27 Virunpat Olankitkunchai Wake Forest 72 72      144 E
T39 T33 Virginie Ding Vanderbilt 73 72      145 +1
T9 T33 Sarah-Eve Rheaume Furman 70 75      145 +1
T27 T33 Vanessa Knecht * Wake Forest 72 73      145 +1
T64 T33 Valentina Rossi Michigan State 75 70      145 +1
T53 T33 Valery Plata Michigan State 74 71      145 +1
T9 T33 Ashley Lau Michigan 70 75      145 +1
T39 T33 Ashley Chow SMU 73 72      145 +1
T39 T33 Lauren Olivares North Carolina State 73 72      145 +1
T39 T33 Lauren Walsh Wake Forest 73 72      145 +1
T53 T33 Maria Villanueva Kentucky 74 71      145 +1
T27 T33 Patricie Mackova Maryland 72 73      145 +1
T4 T33 Symone Henriques Virginia Tech 69 76      145 +1
T53 T45 Mallory Fobes UNCW 74 72      146 +2
T27 T45 Blair Stockett Mississippi State 72 74      146 +2
T39 T45 Phu Khine UNCW 73 73      146 +2
T39 T45 Mikaela Schulz Michigan 73 73      146 +2
T39 T45 Serena Shah SMU 73 73      146 +2
T4 T45 Marissa Wenzler Kentucky 69 77      146 +2
T53 T45 Elizabeth Kondal Rollins College 74 72      146 +2
T53 T45 Faith Choi Ohio State 74 72      146 +2
T27 T53 Sophia Burnett Furman 72 75      147 +3
T53 T53 Aleks Golde North Carolina 74 73      147 +3
T71 T53 Leila Raines Michigan State 76 71      147 +3
T64 T53 Aneka Seumanutafa Ohio State 75 72      147 +3
T18 T53 Ginnie Lee Virginia Tech 71 76      147 +3
T64 T58 Malu Brinker UNCW 75 73      148 +4
T39 T58 Louise Yu Vanderbilt 73 75      148 +4
T18 T58 Nicole Lu North Carolina 71 77      148 +4
T71 T58 Madi Olson SMU 76 72      148 +4
T64 T58 Inja Fric North Carolina State 75 73      148 +4
T53 T58 Lea Klimentova North Carolina State 74 74      148 +4
T64 T58 Brooke Biermann Michigan State 75 73      148 +4
T71 T58 Panassaya Somchit Maryland 76 72      148 +4
T77 T66 Ariel Yu Vanderbilt 77 72      149 +5
T77 T66 Abbey Daniel Mississippi State 77 72      149 +5
T39 T66 Stephany Kim North Carolina 73 76      149 +5
T39 T66 Deborah Spair UNCW 73 76      149 +5
T27 T66 Nina Rissi Michigan State 72 77      149 +5
T64 T66 Berni Villalba Rollins College 75 74      149 +5
T77 T72 Crista Izuzquiza North Carolina 77 73      150 +6
T71 T72
Phoebe Brinker Duke 76 74      150 +6
T39 T72 Isabel Amezcua North Carolina State 73 77      150 +6
T77 T75 Savannah Hylton Furman 77 74      151 +7
T77 T75 Natalie Ambruester North Carolina State 77 74      151 +7
T53 T75 Sarah Edwards Alabama 74 77      151 +7
T77 T78 Anna Wills UNCW 77 75      152 +8
T64 T78 Katie James SMU 75 77      152 +8
T53 T78 Jennifer Jung Rollins College 74 78      152 +8
T85 T81 Kyra Cox Furman 78 75      153 +9
T71 T81 Lauren Miller Mississippi State 76 77      153 +9
T85 T81 Skylar Thompson Ohio State 78 75      153 +9
T91 T81 Carla Alvarez Perez Rollins College 82 71      153 +9
T77 T85 Natalia Aseguinolaza North Carolina 77 77      154 +10
T85 T85 Kristin Jamieson Ohio State 78 76      154 +10
T77 T87 Kennedy Pedigo SMU 77 78      155 +11
90 T87 Angela Garvin Maryland 80 75      155 +11
89 T89 Nicole Adam North Carolina 79 78      157 +13
T71 T89 Riley Quartermain North Carolina 76 81      157 +13
T93 T91
Megan Furtney Duke 83 76      159 +15
95 T91 Lindsay May Clemson 84 75      159 +15
T91 T91 Marta Lopez Echevarria Kentucky 82 77      159 +15
T93 94 Karla Vazquez Setz Maryland 83 77      160 +16
T85 95 Katharina Hesse Rollins College 78 83      161 +17
96 - Angelica Moresco Alabama D 76      -    - Â