FSU women's golf tied for lead through two rounds in challenging NCAA Tallahassee Regional
There's been a lot of changes to Florida State's home golf course since the last time the women's golf team hosted an NCAA Regional.
An $8 million renovation executed by Nicklaus Design -- the firm helmed by legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus and his son Jack Nicklaus II -- was finished in March of 2020.
When it opened, the Seminole Legacy Golf Course became the first Jack Nicklaus Legacy Course in North America. This face lift helped the course become an envy of college golf programs across the country.
It's also become one of the preeminent hosting sites for NCAA postseason events.
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After hosting an NCAA men's golf regional in 2021, Seminole Legacy is hosting an NCAA women's golf regional this week.
This marks the second time in five years that FSU has hosted an NCAA regional for women's golf competitors.
The drastic difference in scorecards this time around speaks to how much more challenging the course is now after the redesign.
In 2018, Alabama won the Tallahassee Regional with a team score of 33-under par. FSU finished second at 25-under par and seven teams finished under par over the three-round event, all of them 5-under par or better.
This time around, no team was under par through Monday's first round after UCLA spent a portion of the day under par. After Tuesday's second round, no team was better than 4-over par.
Through 36 of the 54 holes, FSU and UCLA are currently tied for the lead at 4-over par.
"It's night and day different as far as the difficulty of the golf course," FSU coach Amy Bond said after Monday's opening round.
"But most of these girls want to be professional golfers so you have to learn to think your way around the golf course and execute. I'm excited to see the golf course as beautiful as it is and playing a little bit tough because the players that played good executed great golf shots today.
"I don't think anybody got away with any junk shots today. I think that's huge. We're looking at future professionals here and I think they learned a lot today and will over the next few days."
Getting to compete in an NCAA regional on their home course was a big advantage for the Seminoles, even in the days of the former Don Veller Seminole Golf Course before the renovation.
Now, with a much more challenging course, that familiarity is even more of an aid for the Seminoles, who are looking to advance to their sixth straight NCAA Championship and their 14th overall.
"It's awesome. It's always special to play on your home course and have people you know cheering you on..." FSU senior Beatrice Wallin said Monday.
"You know where not to be (on the course) and you know to use the slope. On 14, I used the slope to get it close. It's super helpful."
FSU in good position with one round left
FSU definitely didn't get off to the start to its home regional that it wanted to Monday morning.
Just past the halfway point of the first round, the Seminoles were 5-over par and four strokes off the lead in a tie for fifth place. Although it was very early in the regional, this put FSU outside of the top four teams who will advance to NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"I certainly think we came out a little bit nervy," Bond said.
The Seminoles finished day one strong, going 3-under par from there to finish the first round in second place, two strokes behind UCLA at even par.
FSU picked up right where it finished off Tuesday morning, taking over the lead and building it up to as many as five strokes at certain points.
Wallin played a big role in this rally. After starting 1-over par through her first 11 holes Monday, the Olofstrop, Sweden native and three-time All-ACC golfer surged up the individual standings by going 8-under par over the ensuing 13 holes between the end of Monday's round and the start of Tuesday's.
Wallin led for the majority of the second round, but enters Wednesday second in the individual standings at 2-under par, two back of UCLA's Emma Spitz at 4-under.
With the top four teams advancing to NCAA Championships, the Seminoles are comfortably ahead of the cut line as the second round comes to a close. They along with UCLA have separated from the field.
Mississippi State was contending with FSU and UCLA but fell off late Tuesday to 17-over par. South Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the regional, has overcome a slow start to get some separation in fourth place at 19-over par, seven strokes ahead of Miami.
The third and final round of the regional is set to get underway Wednesday morning at the Seminole Legacy Golf Course. Admission is free and open to the public.
Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU women's golf tied for Tallahassee Regional lead after second round
