Colorado Remains 12th After Second Round Of Silverado Showdown

NAPA, Calif. – The Colorado women's golf team remained 12th after the second round of the Silverado Showdown, shooting its second 306 of the tournament on Tuesday.
 
UCLA continues to lead the field and now has a four-stroke advantage after finishing the second round with a 1-over 289. The Bruins are now 1-over for the tournament (288-289—577), while the current second-place team, Southern California, is 5-over (581). Oregon State is third (582), while Arizona State is fourth (588). Oregon has moved up one to round out the top five (593).
 
Junior Malak Bouraeda moved up two spots and is tied for 19th after firing a 75 in the second round at the 6,202-yard, par 72 Silverado Resort Spa course. Starting on the 10th hole, she struggled a bit on the back nine, recording a pair of bogeys and one double-bogey, as well as three pars, to go 4-over by the sixth hole. After that, she was able to collect herself and bring her score back down. She finished the back nine with two birdies and one bogey for a 3-over 39 on the back.
 
The front was better, although she started with another bogey. She was able to follow it up by making par on No. 2 and then back-to-back birdies brought her score back to just 2-over. She made par on the next three holes before a bogey on No. 8. She finished her round with one last par on the front, shooting an even 36. Bouraeda is currently 5-over (149) heading into the third round.
 
Freshman Hailey Schalk is now tied for 47th with a 10-over 154. She fired a 78 with two birdies and made par nine times and is the second-highest Buff individually.
 
Sophomore Ellie Gower had the best improvement in the second round, shaving off four strokes from her first round. She recorded a 76 on Tuesday and was just 1-over after the back nine. She recorded a bogey to start her day but made par on the next hole. By her third hole, she sank a birdie and was back to even, where she stayed for the next two holes. Gower recorded her second bogey of the day on No. 15 but finished the back nine with three consecutive pars.
 
The front nine was a little less consistent. She finished 3-over (39) with four bogeys, one birdie and four pars. Overall she is tied for 51st and is 12-over (156).
 
Senior Kirsty Hodgkins also saw improvement on her scorecard, removing three strokes this round to finish with a 77. She had a very nice round going, with one birdie and 13 pars, as well as two bogeys, but a pair of doubles cost her two extra strokes. She is tied for 57th.
 
Junior Alisha Lau had an off day, finishing with an 84. She is tied for 65th.
 
"Our team did not play our best," Colorado coach Anne Kelly said. "But I think everyone is gaining valuable experience which will hopefully pay off in our conference championship. A course like this is a great test of golf and this is a fantastic experience for these college players to play such a challenging course."
 
Although there are some high scores in the field, it is important to note that this course hosts several PGA Tour events, including the Safeway Open. For those events, the greens run out about an 11 on stimpmeter and for the Silverado Showdown, they are running about 12.8 to 13, which makes the greens more challenging but is good as everyone is getting ready for postseason play.
 
CU's individuals also had some mixed results in the second round. Sophomore Issy Simpson is now tied for 60th (75-80—158). She carded an 8-over by making 10 pars and hitting eight bogeys. Senior Elle Otten is 72nd (77-89—166).
 
Oregon State's Ellie Slama pulled away from the field individually by firing a 4-under in her second round. She is now 9-under after carding rounds of 67 and 68 and has a six-stroke lead heading into the final round. Emma Spitz (UCLA) and Allisen Corpuz (USC) are tied for second at 3-under. All three played at the Augusta Women's Amatuer, March 31-April 3, at Augusta National. Spitz tied for third (218), while Corpus tied for 13th (222). Slama missed the cut (153).

It is a shotgun start for the final round, starting at 8 a.m. PDT.