OPELIKA, Ala. “”mdash; When UCLA junior Charlotte Mayorkas
stepped up to the tee of the visually intimidating par-3 15th
island hole at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, she was
determined not to let history repeat itself.
In Tuesday’s first round at the Lakes Course on Grand
National, Mayorkas double-bogeyed the hole and posted one of her
worst scores of the year.
On Wednesday, her tee shot barely carried the lake engulfing the
hole, but her ball nestled in some high weeds short of the green.
Mayorkas was once again faced with the realistic possibility of
walking away with a bogey or worse.
But Mayorkas kept her composure and chopped her ball out of the
rough and onto the green, confidently draining the remaining putt
and escaping with a par.
Like Mayorkas, the No. 2 UCLA women’s golf team stared
danger in the face for the majority of Wednesday’s second
round and, for the most part, didn’t flinch.
Led by the stellar play of sophomore Susie Mathews, the Bruins
amassed a collective 5-under par team total and reside in first
place at 4-under par after 36 holes. UCLA holds a one-stroke lead
over tournament-favorite Duke heading into Thursday’s third
round.
“We’re looking forward to the next two days,”
said Mathews, who followed an opening round 1-under par 71 with a
nearly flawless 3-under par 69 to take the outright lead at 4-under
par after two rounds.
“So much can happen in two rounds. We’d like to
increase the gap.”
Although Mayorkas and freshman Hannah Jun came into the
championship with postseason momentum, Mathews has steadied the
Bruins’ ship in Alabama.
Mathews, who had her share of struggles with her game and her
confidence toward the latter part of the regular season, has
brought life back into her game. As a result, wayward drives have
been replaced by moon balls that split the fairway.
“Believing in myself and going out there with a positive
attitude is the difference,” she said.
“She’s been waiting for a round like this to boost
her morale and confidence,” UCLA coach Carrie Forsyth
said.
While Mathews is one Bruin who seems to have found the key to
playing quality golf on Grand National, the performance of her
teammate Mayorkas has thus far been tempered on collegiate
golf’s biggest stage.
Though she rebounded from a disappointing first round to post a
3-under par 69 Wednesday to move to 1-under par for the
championship, Mayorkas is still frustrated with her game.
“I’ve been hitting some stupid shots,” said
Mayorkas, who missed a putt inside of two feet. “Shooting 69
is still frustrating. It could have been a little lower.”
When the dust settled after Wednesday’s second round, UCLA
and Duke were the only two teams left standing.
Faced with the likely prospect of playing all four rounds with
their Blue Devil counterparts, the Bruins will get a firsthand look
at their closest and fiercest competition. Coach Forsyth
wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I am happy for us to be in this situation and show the
skeptics that we’re not just an “˜also-ran,’ that
we’re a great team and we came here to play and win,”
Forsyth said. “The East-West thing gets played up, but
we’re a good team and Duke is a great team, and you have to
battle it out to the end.
“In the national championship, anything can
happen.”