TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
The LSU women’s golf team posted its lowest first round score in an NCAA Championship event on Friday, and the Tigers stood in fourth place with an even par 288 on the OMNI La Costa Resort course in Carlsbad, California.
The round topped by one shot the 1-over 289 the Tigers opened with in 2024 in the tournament’s first year at this venue.
The even par round equals the second-best single round in school history in an NCAA Championship for LSU, equaling the third round in 2024 and the second round in 2023 at Scottsdale, Arizona.
LSU had the fourth lowest score of the 15 teams seeded 16-30 that played in the morning on the par 72, 6,271-yard course. The top 15 seeds were playing Friday evening. Scores will be updated after 9 p.m. central time.
“It was truly a team effort today, having everybody in it,” LSU coach Garrett Runion said. “Nobody was playing super great or anything. They were just playing solidly. It was a very solid round and very consistent, and it’s hard to beat consistency.”
Elsa Svensson led the Tigers with a 1-under par 71, featuring a birdie on the par 5 18th. Svensson had four birdies on the round, three on the final nine holes. Taylor Riley, who is from San Diego (34 miles from Carlsbad) had two early birdies and finished at even par 72 with four birdies. Freshman Ryleigh Knaub also had four birdies for an even 72.
Francesco Fiorellini posted a 1-over par 73, shooting 1-under par over the last 16 holes with 15 pars and a birdie. Josefin Widal finished at 5-over 75 with three birdies in her round.
“I was proud of the fact that we only had one double bogey out here,” Runion said. “This place has some tough holes all over the place, and to go through with just one little mistake like that was big. I was proud of Taylor, coming home as a senior in her hometown and really started off well. Even after making the double (on 14), she finished very well. I’m also proud of Ryleigh in her first national championship. She started the first hole off with a birdie and then after a couple of bogeys, she rights the ship and had a great round. Our other senior, Elsa, birdied the last hole to shoot 1-under is big, because it’s going to come down to one or two shots. So, every shot counts. I’m very pleased with how they played today.”
Three teams in the morning wave posted under par scores with Oklahoma State at 5-under 283, Eastern Michigan at 2-under 286 and Missouri at 1-under 287. Ellie Bushnell of Oklahoma State shot the low round of the morning at 4-under 68.
The Tigers tee off in Saturday’s second round at 3:07 p.m. central time with Kentucky and Virginia.
“The team is in a great spot,” Runion said. “The vibes are high. We’ve got a long break until Saturday afternoon, but we put ourselves in a good spot.”
Live scoring will be available at Scoreboard.clippd.com and streaming on BabyGrande.com.
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