BELLEAIR, Fla. – Vanderbilt women’s golf continued its strong play on day two of the SEC Championship at Pelican Golf Club with a 2-under-par 278 Saturday. The Commodores sit third in a tightly packed field led by Texas at 10-under.
Freshman Kathryn Ha entered the lineup and paced the Commodores with a 4-under 66. Ha, who began the tournament as Vandy’s alternate, opened the round with back-to-back bogeys before carding six birdies over the final 16 holes, including back-to-back markers on the final two holes.
“What a roller coaster day we had today that ended up being a pretty good day,” head coach Greg Allen said. “And what a big round for Kathryn. When we told her she’d be the alternate this week she was obviously disappointed, but I told her to be ready if her name is called; and after a couple warmup holes as she called them, goodness was she ready.
“That was so big for us on a day where Lynn, Sara and AT struggled a bit. But I’m proud of how they hung in there and made some late birdies to help. Ava didn’t have her best ball-striking day, but she has shown so much maturity this spring by being patient and not trying to force things. That allowed her to still find a way to shoot under par.”
Junior Ava Merrill came home at 1-under-par with a 69. She carded two birdies and just a single bogey in the round. Sara Im shook off a double bogey on No. 8 to finish with a 1-over 71 in round two. Lynn Lim carded a 2-over 72 behind birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 while Angelina Tolentino hit the clubhouse at 3-over 73.
Vanderbilt slipped to third on the leaderboard as Texas and Oklahoma vaulted to the top behind rounds of 7-under and 8-under, respectively. The top eight teams following Sunday’s third round will advance to match play. The field is tightly congested with the Dores sitting just five strokes clear of a three-team tie for the eighth and final spot entering the final round.
“The leaderboard is jammed packed and tomorrow is going to be a dog fight for the top eight spots,” Allen said. “I’m glad I coach a team full of young ladies with a dog mentality.”
The Commodores are looking to advance to match play for the first time at Pelican Golf Club and the first time in the SEC Championships since 2022-23. Vanderbilt will tee off in the final round at 8 a.m. ET alongside Texas and Oklahoma. Live scoring for the SEC Championship is available on SCOREBOARD.
