Xu Closes Strong to Lead the Women in Second Round of Ivy Championship

Saturday, April 23

Ringoes, N.J. / The Ridge at Back Brook

All Day

Dartmouth College

Ivy League Championship

Freshman Claire Xu

Photo by: Larry French

Xu Closes Strong to Lead the Women in Second Round of Ivy Championship

4/23/2022 10:13:00 PM | Women's Golf

Day Two Results Hole-by-hole scoring

The freshman sank five birdies, four over the final six holes

By: Rick Bender

RINGOES, N.J. — Freshman Claire Xu sank five birdies in the second round of the Ivy League Women's Golf Championship — four over the final six holes — to lead Dartmouth on Saturday with a 1-over 73, shaving seven strokes off her first-round total. Her performance helped the Big Green shoot an even 300 (+12) today to solidly remain in fourth place, seven strokes ahead of Yale.

Columbia remained atop the leaderboard with a 6-over 294 in the second round but saw its four-stroke advantage at the start of the day cut in half with Princeton narrowing the gap with the low round of 292 (+4). Harvard sits in third, four strokes ahead of Dartmouth's 606 (+30).

The day began well for the entire team, which seemed to enjoy the calmer wind and warmer temperatures today at the 6,174-yard, par-72 course at The Ridge at Back Brook. Four of the five Big Green players had a birdie on one of the first two holes while making par on the other. But those would be the only birdies for anyone in Dartmouth green until the 13th hole. That's where Xu began her surge, making birdie on both the 331-yard, par-4 13th hole and the 533-yard, par-5 14th.

A bogey on 15 was merely a hiccup as Xu made par on 16 before ending her day with two more birdies. With her strong finish, she was able to climb five spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 18th with teammates Samantha Yao and Kristen Chen.

Xu's improvement wasn't even the best on the team as sophomore Penelope Tir went from an 11-over 83 yesterday to a 2-over 74 today, shaving nine strokes. Consistency was the name of her game with two birdies and 12 pars. Only six players produced a better round, and she now finds herself tied for 25th with a 157 (+13).

Chen was right behind Tir with a 3-over 75 during her tour of the 18 holes, making par on 10 of the first 12 holes. Birdies on the 331-yard, par-4 13th and 176-yard, par-3 15th were offset by a double bogey on 14 and a bogey on 16, but with pars on the final two holes, she ended the day in solid fashion.

Although sophomore Katharine Sung fell back six spots on the leaderboard, she remained in the top 10 at 7-over (151) over the first two rounds. She started and ended the day well with birdies on the first and 18th holes, but she had some struggles in between with just nine pars to card a 6-over 78 today. Yao, meanwhile, birdied the first hole and parred a dozen others in matching Sung's 78.

The final round of the tournament will tee off at 9 a.m. on Sunday with the Big Green playing with Penn and Yale. Harvard, Princeton and Columbia will hit the course at 9:50 a.m.