Feb. 18, 2008

Results

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Proving they belong among the nation's top programs, the Michigan State women's golf team jumped out to a 14-stroke lead after Monday's two rounds at the Central District Invitational, held at the River Wilderness Golf Club in Parrish, Fla. The Spartans, hosting the tournament for the eighth time, began the day with three-over par 291 in the morning session and followed it up with an afternoon 10-over par 298, to top the field which includes 10 of the top 50 programs in the country, including four ranked in the Golf World Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Senior Sara Brown is the individual leader after Monday's two rounds, firing back-to-back two-under par 70s, to lead Kent State's Kira Meixner (73-72) and Missouri's Julia Potter (73-72) by five shots.

Despite the sparkling play of Brown throughout her two rounds, the highlight of the day for the Spartans could be senior Jordyn Wells' hole-in-one on the 180-yard 12th hole of her opening round. The shot is only the seventh hole-in-one in MSU history and the first since Emily Bastel accomplished the feat at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 23, 1998.

Brown was consistent all day, beginning her morning with seven pars and a birdie (fourth hole), before a bogey on the ninth evened her front nine. She tore up the next eight holes with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 15th, but again struggled on the closing hole, bogeying the 18th for an opening two-under par 70 and a one shot lead over freshman Aimee Neff after the initial 18 holes. The senior recovered nicely after a pair of bogeys to begin her second round with an eagle (fourth) and two birdies (third and sixth) over the next four holes to regain her lead. She played even golf the final 12 holes of the afternoon with 10 pars, a birdie (16th) and a bogey, to match her morning score.

Neff, currently in fourth place at two-over par 146, began the tournament with a one-under par 71, but dropped a couple strokes in the afternoon round with a three-over par 75. Starting on the second hole, Neff was one-over on her first seven holes with two birdies (fourth and seventh), but an error free final 11 holes, including back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13, moved her into second place through round one. In the second round, she again kept her errors to a minimum, but a double-bogey on the first hole, her last hole of the day, pushed her down the leader board. Neff did manage birdies on hole No. 8 and 14.

Two other Spartans - Wells and sophomore Laura Kueny are currently among the top-20 after Monday's opening two rounds. Wells, boasted by her ace, is tied for 16th with a seven-over par 151 (74-77). Even though Kueny posted seven birdies, including the fourth and 13th twice, in her opening 36 holes, her inconsistent play managed her a tie for 20th at eight-over par 152 (76-76).

Junior Holly Niederkohr, competing in her first tournament since late September, shot 24-over par 168 (89-79).

Battling for position behind MSU is No. 20 Kent State, who is second after a two-round total of 27-over 603 (304-299), followed closely by defending tournament champion and No. 25 Texas A&M (302-302) and Ohio State (308-296) at 28-over 604. Texas is fifth at 31-over par 607 (304-303).

The three-round Central District Invitational concludes tomorrow morning with a 8 a.m. ET shotgun start.