HANAHAN, S.C. – Charleston Southern junior Hayley McNeill tallied a one-under par 71 to jump 20 spots into a tie for 31st in second round play at the Cougar Invite at Yeamans Hall Club. CSU is in 19th place as a team with Tuesday's final round shotgun start set for 9 a.m.
McNeill turned in her best round of the young season for coach Matt Cram-Smith's Bucs. She recorded birdies at the third and sixth holes en route to a one-under par front nine. McNeill slipped back into the black due to a pair of bogeys but rebounded with back-to-back birdies at the par-five 15th and par-3 16th to finish strong.
Emelie Flink's three-over par 75 and Bella Johnson's four-over 76 were CSU's other top rounds of the day. Shelby Thompson and Milleina Ohara each went five-over par.
"We needed a bit of luck out there today and got a little bit of bad luck at times instead," Cram-Smith said of second round play in an always challenging golf course and field. "It was a bit of an up and down day because we played really well at times and then struggled at times."
"Hayley really finished strong today, was two-under over her last six holes to finish under par and made a great par saving putt on the last hole from about 15 feet," Cram-Smith continued. "We're really close to playing well at this course. Tomorrow is a big opportunity to beat some big programs and we'll be up for the challenge for sure."
Furman maintained the lead with an 8-under par team total, while North Carolina went 11-under to pull within a stroke of the Paladins. Wake Forest's Sierra Sims, the round one leader, and Furman's Natalie Srinivasan are tied for the individual lead at 9-under par through 36 holes. The field features programs from the SEC, ACC and Big Ten.
CSU begins final round play at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Live stats are available through Golfstat.
