Rutgers women’s golf put itself in position to make a move at the Boilermaker Classic, closing Monday in eighth place after the first two rounds at Kampen-Cosler Golf Course in West Lafayette, Indiana.
With 18 holes remaining, the Scarlet Knights sit at 25-over-par 601 after rounds of 298 and 303. Miami (Fla.) owns the team lead at even-par 576, with Ole Miss at plus-3 and North Florida at plus-14. On the individual side, Miami’s Barbora Bujáková and North Florida’s Kaitlyn Schroeder are tied at the top at four-under-par 140.
Rutgers got its best opening punch from Joline Truong, who opened with a one-under-par 71 and is tied for 23rd. She came out fast with four birdies over her first six holes, then added back-to-back under-par scores on holes 14 and 15 before another birdie on the fifth hole. That first round put her inside the top 10 at the time.
Grace Lu also gave the Scarlet Knights a strong start, carding an even-par 72 in round one. She birdied holes 6, 7, 10 and 12 and is tied for 20th overall. Lu has also been sharp on the par 5s, where she is tied for fourth with a 4.75 average.
Junior Judy Amano has been steady across both rounds, leading Rutgers and tying for fifth overall with 26 pars.
Senior Emily James made the biggest leap for Rutgers in the afternoon, climbing 34 spots to tie for 32nd after 36 holes. She shot an even-par 72 in the second round and picked up birdies on holes 14, 16 and 17.
The second round was tougher on the Scarlet Knights overall. Lu finished her day with a four-over-par 76, while Truong posted a six-over-par 78, though both remained inside the top 30.
"We had some good play going in the morning before the winds picked up in the afternoon," said head coach Kari Williams. "This is a challenging course and set up, but a great test for us. Our game management could be better tomorrow and we'll look to tighten up our focus for the final 18."
Tuesday’s final round begins with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. The conditions on Monday were sunny, with temperatures in the high 80s and winds ranging from 5-15 mph in the morning and 10-15 mph in the afternoon.
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