COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sophomore
Lyla Louderbaugh leads the field through two rounds at the NCAA Columbus Regional in Ohio, following her opening-round 69 (-3) with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday. The Jayhawks are tied for third at +6 heading into Wednesday's final round.
Kansas posted the lowest team round of the day on Tuesday, shooting a 293 (+5) to climb three spots and move inside the top-five cut line.
"Really proud of everyone on the team today," said Kansas head coach
Lindsay Kuhle. "This has been a total team effort the last two days. We know we have the experience and ability to play in tough conditions because that's what we practice and prepare for back home. Everything we did this year was to prepare for a round like today."
Arkansas leads the pack after the opening two rounds at +4, followed by UNLV (+5), host school Ohio State (+6), Kansas (+6) and SMU (+16) to round out the top five of the leaderboard. The top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship in La Costa, California, May 16-21. The top player not on an advancing team will qualify for the NCAA Championship as an individual.
Louderbaugh sits at 5-under for the tournament and leads the NCAA Columbus Regional by two strokes through 36 holes. Her second-round 70 featured a team-high-tying five birdies, including a stretch of three straight on holes 14, 15 and 16. No Kansas women's golfer has ever earned medalist honors at an NCAA Regional.
"Lyla was awesome today with three birdies in a row and a great par save on the last hole," Kuhle added.
Senior
Lauren Clark fired a 75 (+3) in the second round and sits inside the top 20 at +3, tied for 18th. Her round was highlighted by a pair of birdies on the back nine.
Senior
Johanna Ebner climbed 21 spots on the individual leaderboard with a steady second-round 74 (+2). She recorded two birdies and is tied for 30th.
Freshman
Ebba Nordstedt carded a team-high-tying five birdies en route to a 74 (+2), jumping 21 spots on the leaderboard to sit tied for 34th at +7.
Junior
Amy DeKock posted an 8-over 80 in the second round and is tied for 41st at +8 for the tournament.
"Super proud of the team's effort and the way they competed," said Kuhle. "We're in a great position but we know we need to perform tomorrow. We want to win and embrace the challenge that comes with it. This is everything we have worked for and we're ready for the challenge."
THE FINAL ROUND
Kansas will tee off for the third and final round on Wednesday, May 7, at 7:00 a.m. CT and will be grouped with Arkansas (+4) and UNLV (+5). Live scoring for the third round will be available
here, while fans can also follow with live updates throughout the round from the official
Kansas Women's Golf Twitter (X) account.