USC
PING/ASU Invitational
No. 1 USC Opens In Second At PING/ASU
April 01, 2011 | Women's Golf
April 1, 2011
Senior Lizette Salas, junior Inah Park and freshmen Sophia Popov and Rachel Morris were all under par to lead USC's No. 1 women's golf team into second place after the first day of the 37th Annual PING/ASU Intercollegiate on Friday (April 1) at the Karsten G.C. in Tempe, Ariz.
USC, playing without junior Lisa McClocksey (ranked No. 5 nationally), still carded a 7-under 281, five strokes back of No. 2 UCLA. Texas is third (286) with No. 10 Arizona fourth (289) and Stanford fifth (290). The Trojans are after their third win of the season and their eighth top 3 finish in as many events.
Popov was Troy's highest finisher, using a 3-under 69 to tie for second overall, two back of UCLA's Tiffany Lua. Popov sank five birdies against two bogeys on the day, including on a pair of par 3 holes. Her round marked her team-best fifth round in the 60s this year.
Salas is tied for fifth at 2-under 70 after a tidy round that featured birdies on the par 4 8th and 13th holes and nothing but pars the rest of the way.
Morris, in the starting lineup this week for McCloskey while she plays as an amateur at the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship, tied her season low with a 1-under 71. She was at 3-under through 15 holes before her first two bogeys of the day on 16 and 18.
Still, Morris is tied for 10th, along with junior Inah Park. Park opened with a birdie on 2 before bogeys on 9 and 12 dropped her to 1-over. She closed, however, with birdies on 17 and 18 to go under par for one of her best rounds of the year.
Sophomore Cyna Rodriguez played solidly as well and is tied for 31st at 2-over 74. She had two birdies on the day.
Play continues Saturday and Sunday (April 2-3), beginning at 7:30 a.m. each day.
Players Mentioned
