Whittaker Fires Career Best in Mexico

Megan Whittaker shot a scorching 69 (-3) to lead the Nebraska women's golf team in the second round in the Battle at the Beach San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, on Saturday.

Whittaker, a sophomore from Elkhorn, Neb., put together her career-best round that included a four-under-par 32 on the front nine of the par-72, 6,280-yard layout of Club Campestre San Jose. She recorded birdies on 3, 6, 8 and 9 while adding another birdie on No. 12. She settled for bogeys on No. 16 and No. 18 to finish at 69 - her first career round better than par as a collegian. 

Whittaker's strong second round helped her climb into the top 25 in the individual standings. She heads into Sunday's final round at 148 (79-69) in a tie for 22nd, shooting for her second straight top-25 finish to close the fall.

Nebraska senior Kate Smith added a solid 74 (+2) in the second round to close the first 36 holes in a tie for 12th (72-74-146). Smith, who started her round with a par on No. 9, struggled with three bogeys before a double-bogey on No. 18. She turned the corner with birdies on 1, 3 and 4, before taking a bogey on No. 5. She added her fourth birdie on No. 7 to close the round strong.

Smith and Whittaker were the catalysts for the Huskers putting up a solid team score of 298. The Huskers sit in 11th place in the loaded 16-team field through two rounds at 606 (308-298). 

"It was an awesome day for Megan," Nebraska Coach Lisa Johnson said. "She had the low round in her career and she was excellent on the front nine. Kate also rebounded after her first 10 holes of the round. She was hitting the ball well, but just not scoring. She saw a few putts roll in and then took off. Hopefully we can close the tournament with some lower scores across the board on Sunday."

Ole Miss sits atop the team standings at 580 (302-278), just one stroke ahead of SEC rival LSU (293-288-581). Virginia Tech (300-286-586), the hosts from TCU (299-288-587) and Texas Tech (303-291-594) round out the top five teams in the standings.

Freshman Leah Herzog provided Nebraska with its No. 3 score of the day with her second straight round of 77. She sits in a tie for 55th (154) in the 87-player field through 36 holes. Senior Haley Thiele added Nebraska's final counting score of the round with a 78. She enters the final round in a tie for 71st (160).

Sophomore Kirsten Baete managed a 79 on Saturday to sit in 70th (159) through two rounds. Junior Hannah Thiele rounded out the Husker contingent with a second-round 80 to sit in a tie for 75th (161) while playing as an individual outside the Nebraska lineup.

Chiara Tamburlini from Ole Miss owns the individual lead with a five-under-par 139 (70-69) through 36 holes. LSU's Latanna Stone and TCU's Jennie Park are just one shot back at 140 through two rounds. Texas A&M's Courtney Dow, Julia Johnson from Ole Miss, and Virginia Tech's Emily Mahar and Alyssa Montgomery are all tied for fourth at 142 (-2).

The three-round Battle at the Beach concludes with the final 18 holes beginning with an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start on Sunday in Mexico. Live scoring is available from BirdieFire.com.

Battle at the Beach
San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (Host: TCU)
Club Campestre San Jose (Par 72, 6,280 Yards)
Nov. 1-3, 2019

Team Standings (Two Rounds)
1. #14 Ole Miss - 302-278-580 (+4)
2. #18 LSU - 293-288-581 (+5)
3. #20 Virginia Tech - 300-286-586 (+10)
4. TCU - 299-288-587 (+11)
5. Texas Tech - 303-291-594 (+18)
6. Augusta - 303-292-595 (+19)
7. San Jose State - 300-296-596 (+20)
8. Texas A&M - 296-301-597 (+21)
9. #11 Vanderbilt - 298-300-598 (+22)
10. Denver - 302-303-605 (+29)
11. Nebraska - 308-298-606 (+30)
12. Missouri - 303-304-607 (+31)
13. Kansas State - 310-300-610 (+34)
14. Iowa - 312-299-611 (+35)
15. Indianapolis - 311-302-613 (+37)
16. UAB - 318-317-635 (+59)

Individual Leaderboard (Two Rounds)
*1. Chiara Tamburlini, Ole Miss - 70-69-139 (-5)
T2. Latanna Stone, LSU - 73-67-140 (-4)
T2.  Jennie Park, TCU - 70-70-140 (-4)
T4. Courtney Dow, Texas A&M - 71-71-142 (-2)
T4. Julia Johnson, Ole Miss - 73-69-142 (-2)
T4. Emily Mahar, Virginia Tech - 70-72-142 (-2)
T4. Alyssa Montgomery, Virginia Tech - 73-69-142 (-2)
T8. Ingrid Lindblad, LSU - 68-76-144 (E)
T8. Conner Beth Ball, Ole Miss - 76-68-144 (E)
T8. Louise Yu, Vanderbilt - 72-72-144 (E)
*competing as an individual outside the team lineup

Nebraska Individuals
T12. Kate Smith - 72-74-146 (+2)
T22. Megan Whittaker - 79-69-148 (+4)
T55. Leah Herzog - 77-77-154 (+10)
70. Kirsten Baete - 80-79-159 (+15)
T71. Haley Thiele - 82-78-160 (+16)
*T75. Hannah Thiele - 81-80-161 (+17)
*competing as an individual outside Nebraska's lineup