LSU’s fourth-ranked golf women’s golf team opens match play in the SEC championship tournament Saturday after destroying the 14-team field in three rounds of stroke play that ended Friday at Birmingham’s Greystone Golf and Country Club Legacy Course.
The Tigers finished 54 holes with a school record of 46-under 818, nine strokes ahead of second-seed South Carolina. LSU plays No. 8 seed Arkansas Saturday morning at 7:50 in the quarterfinals with the semis set Saturday afternoon and the finals on Sunday.
LSU shot a school record 18-under 270 on Friday, passing the 16-under 272 mark set in Wednesday’s first round. The three rounds, including Thursday’s 12-under 276, rank as the top three rounds in Tiger history.
Led by sophomore Ingrid Lindblad who finished second in medalist play, LSU was the only team to have all five players finish the 54 holes under par. The Tigers had Lindblad, sophomore Latanna Stone and senior Kendall Griffin each shoot under par in all three rounds.
“It’s been an unbelievable and historic three days that I won’t forget anytime soon,” LSU coach Garrett Runion said. “I am so happy for this team and the way they played. To shoot 46 under par as a team in the SEC Championship, leading after all three rounds and breaking SEC and LSU records along the way was special. It truly was a team effort as all five players finished under par for the tournament. It was like a contest of who could make the most birdies in one round.”
Lindblad shot an 8-under 64 in Friday’s third round to finish at 14-under 202, which is an LSU individual 54-hole school record formerly held by Austin Ernst who shot a 203 at the Cougar Classic back in 2011.
It was Lindblad’s second 64 this season. She finished the round with eight birdies and 10 pars.
Stone shot a 7-under 65 in round three for a fourth place 12-under 204, the third best 54-hole score in school history. She carded a total of 10 birdies.
Griffin shot a 3-under 69 in the third round as she finished in a three-way tie for fifth place with an 11-under 205, which ties the fourth best individual 54-hole score in LSU’s history.
Junior Alden Wallace’s even par 72 led to a three-round score of 8-under 208, which ties for the 12th best individual 54-hole score in school history. Wallace had five birdies in the third-round to finish tied for 10th place.
Freshman Carla Tejedo Mulet shot a 2-under 214 for the tournament and finished tied for 31st.
Tejedo Mulet finished round three with a one-over 73.
“My biggest challenge now will be to bring their excitement down and get them ready for match play,” Runion said. “How they played and what they did was amazing, but everything starts over starting tomorrow and we need to be ready. It’s not over yet, we still have work to do. The ladies are excited, and I am excited too.”
LSU 272-276-270 818 -246-under
Ingrid Lindblad 69-69-64 202 -14
Latanna Stone 70-69-65 204 -12
Kendall Griffin 67-69-69 205 -11
Alden Wallace 66-70-72 208 -8
Carla Tejedo Mulet 72-69-73 214 -2
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