Oct. 25, 2014
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Saturday is often referred to as “moving day” in golf circles, the time when teams and players make their move up the leaderboard to contend for tournament titles. For the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team, Saturday’s best move proved to be staying right where it was.
The Fighting Irish entered the second round of the Landfall Tradition just seven strokes off the lead, and by the time the sun set on the Intracoastal Waterway near the Pete Dye Course (par 72/6,159 yards) at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, North Carolina, that’s exactly where Notre Dame found itself — seven shots back at six-over par 582 (290-292), good for eighth place in the powerful 18-team tournament.
No. 11 Wake Forest and No. 15 Oklahoma State share the 36-hole lead at the Landfall Tradition with matching scores of 575 (-1), while Notre Dame is part of a logjam of nine teams within 11 strokes of the co-leaders in a tournament that features 10 of the nation’s top 25 teams, according to this week’s Golfstat rankings.
“It was another solid day for us overall,” head coach Susan Holt said. “I was very pleased with how they all played down the stretch and finished strong. We’ll need to take that momentum and build on it tomorrow.”
The Fighting Irish made a late charge on the back nine to put themselves in the heart of the chase, led by junior Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy), who scorched the Pete Dye Course with four birdies on her final six holes (including a birdie-birdie-birdie finish) to get back to level-par for the day and six-over par 150 (78-72) for the weekend, good for a tie for 56th place.
“Talia’s finish was huge,” Holt said. “She doubled her second hole of the day and fought hard all day to get it back to level par.”
Sophomore Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) continued her recent sharp play, carding her second consecutive even-par 72 (thanks to a birdie on No. 17) to rise into a 13th-place tie in the 99-player field at even-par 144 (72-72).
Among those currently joining Ferreira in 13th place is Notre Dame senior captain Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor), who stumbled early on Saturday, but a birdie on her closing hole brought the Fighting Irish veteran level for the tournament at even-par 144 (69-75).
Both Ferreira and Armstrong are seven shots behind individual leader Ashley Holder of UCF (137, -7).
Another Notre Dame senior, Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) patiently navigated her way to her second consecutive round of 74, finding herself in a tie for 40th place at four-over par 148 (74-74).
Freshman Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) started well on Saturday, picking up birdies on two of her first three holes, but the rookie found the going rough the remainder of the afternoon. Still, she rose into the top 50 on the individual ladder through two rounds, currently in a 45th-place tie at five-over par 149 (75-74).
Notre Dame returns to the course for the final round of the Landfall Tradition at 8:45 a.m. (ET) Sunday, with live scoring available through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com).
“The reality is that we can compete with these top 25 teams, and we need to finish this off tomorrow with another solid round,” Holt said.
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter pages (@NDsidMasters or @NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Landfall Tradition
Oct. 25, 2014 — Second Round
Country Club of Landfall-Pete Dye Course (par 72/6,159 yards)
Wilmington, N.C.
TEAM SCORES (36-hole totals): 1. (tie) Wake Forest 575 (286-289) and Oklahoma State 575 (290-285); 3. (tie) Virginia 578 (292-286) and Purdue 578 (283-295); 5. (tie) Florida 580 (288-292), Alabama 580 (290-290) and South Carolina 580 (293-287); 8. NOTRE DAME 582 (290-292); 9. UCF 583 (289-294); 10. Tennessee 584 (292-292); 11. Duke 586 (293-293); 12. (tie) North Carolina 591 (292-299) and North Carolina State 591 (301-290); 14. Arizona 592 (293-299); 15. Ohio State 593 (292-301); 16. UNC Wilmington 613 (315-298); 17. Michigan State 618 (315-303); 18. Penn State 624 (308-316).
TOP 12 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 99): 1. Ashley Holder (UCF) 137 (67-70); 2. Nanna Madsen (USC) 138 (66-72); 3. Emma Talley (ALA) 140 (69-71); 4. (tie) A.J. Newell (TENN) 141 (68-73) and Allison Emrey (WFU) 141 (72-69); 6. (tie) Lauren Diaz-Yi (UVA) 142 (72-70), Elizabeth Szokol (UVA) 142 (69-73) and Aurora Kan (PUR) 142 (68-74); 9. (tie) Linnea Johansson (OKST) 143 (75-68), Isabella Deilert (OKST) 143 (71-72), Monifa Sealy 143 (70-73) and Lindsay McGetrick (NCST) 143 (71-72); 13. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) 144 (72-72) and Ashley Armstrong (ND) 144 (69-75); 40. (tie) Kelli Oride (ND) 148 (74-74); 45. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 149 (75-74); 56. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 150 (78-72).
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director