Women of Troy tee off spring season


By
 in ,

After its first team action of the spring season, the USC women’s golf team stands in first place of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge as the No. 1 Women of Troy tee off the third and final round Wednesday at 8 a.m. in Palos Verdes, Calif.

On Tuesday, USC shot a 4-under 280 to jump from fourth to first place. The Trojans are standing at 10-over 578 with a one-shot lead over No. 37 UCLA, a seven-shot lead over No. 4 Duke and an 11-shot lead over No. 33 Texas.

USC junior Sophia Popov, tied for fifth on the leaderboard and ranked No. 21 in the nation, notched six birdies to go 3-under 68 in the second round to lead the Trojans.

Freshman Kyung Kim, ranked No. 16, is tied for second after scoring a 2-under 69 with five birdies on Tuesday and 3-over on Monday. Junior Rachel Morris, meanwhile, also shot a 2-under 69 for the Trojans on Tuesday and is tied for 10th place.

Kim, Morris and Popov are three of five players who have shot under par in either round of the competition so far.

After the first round of play concluded on Monday, the Trojans were 14-over 298, 10 shots behind first place UCLA. USC fell behind in the final three holes of the first round, shooting a combined 7-over.

Freshman Annie Park helped USC cling onto its fourth place position through the first round with a 1-over 72 performance on Monday. Park is currently tied for 18th after coming into the day tied for ninth. Sophomore Doris Chen, ranked No. 14, is 8-over 150 and tied for 30th in the competition.

In individual play, USC freshmen Kim Santiago and Ellie Chai are tied for 59th and 79th, respectively, through two rounds.

USC will tee off in the final round Wednesday at 8 a.m. with UCLA, Duke and Texas.