Cougars Heat up in Las Vegas

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — After struggling in Round 1 to find the cup, the BYU women’s golf team settled in during Round 2 of the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown on Tuesday.

Freshman Lauren Atkinson led the charge, shooting an impressive 1-under in Round 2. Atkinson birdied three times to overcome two bogies, moving from 58^th place to 31^st overall.

"Lauren played really well," BYU coach Carrie Roberts said. "She had a really good finish. What made her so effective was her ability to hit fairways and greens. She played steady and didn't make any big mistakes."

Team leader Maggie Yuan also put together a nice round, shooting her second consecutive 72. Yuan moved from 25^th place into the top 15. She is sitting at par for the tournament and poised to crack into the top 10, just two strokes out of 10^th place.

The solid play by the Cougars moved them from 15^th to 11^th with one more round scheduled. Both Ashley Malaska and Amanda Keith shot second rounds of 76 to help the team keep pace.

With one round left, Roberts is excited to see what her team can do.

“We’d love to shoot under par as a team," Roberts said. "It's going to be tough because there are 30 to 45 mph winds, but we can keep improving. That's our goal, keep getting personal bests like we did today." 

UC Davis is currently leading the field, seven strokes ahead of UC Irvine and West Coast Conference foe, Pepperdine.

The women will finish tournament play on Wednesday. To follow the tournament live, click here.