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SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Troy sophomore Becca Horner fired a 2-under 70 on the opening day of the NCAA South Bend Regional and is tied for second place on the individual leaderboard. The Trojans, who finished the day 22-over par, are tied for 16th place after Thursday's opening 18 holes at The Warren Golf Course.
Opening on the back nine, Horner moved to 3-under par at the turn following back-to-back birdies on the par-4 12th and 13th holes and a birdie on the par-5 17th hole. The native of Woodham, England, who was the individual leader when she made the turn, added three more birdies on the front nine to finish with six on the day. Her six birdies tied Duke's Celine Boutier for the most in the field – Boutier is the No. 5 ranked player in the country.
It was Horner's second straight round under par after firing a 1-under 70 in the final round of the Sun Belt Championship; they are the first two rounds under par in her Troy career.
"Becca had a great day today and that's two straight rounds under par for her," head coach Bart Barnes said. "We changed her putting style late in the year and she is now using a braced putting stroke. Becca had been hitting the ball quite well all year, but hadn't been putting well. Now the putter has really given her some confidence and taken some pressure off her other clubs."
"I've been hitting my irons well for awhile and now I'm make more putts," Horner said. "It gives me a lot more confidence as I don't have to aim straight for the pin, because I feel that I can make my putts. Tomorrow I need to just keep playing how I've been playing, forget about today and start new."
No. 5 Duke fired an even-par 288 to claim a five-shot lead over No. 13 Wake Forest, while No. 4 Arizona, No. 20 UC Davis, No. 39 Kent State and No. 12 Oklahoma State round out the top six – the top six teams and the top individual not on one of those teams advance to the NCAA Championship.
"The course was playing a little tough today, but I'm really frustrated with our final nine holes," Barnes said. "We were hanging in there when we made the turn and to see us fade like that at the end of the round was disappointing. Hopefully Becca's round holds our day together enough so we can tie some scores tomorrow and move back up the board.
"We're putting fairly well even though we didn't make a ton," Barnes said. "We rolled it well today and it's only a matter of time before some of them start dropping. We need to get out here tomorrow, stick to our game plan and get out to a fast start."
The links-style course that spans 250 wooded acres played to an average of 76.34 during the opening round with just 11 golfers firing rounds under par. Only two holes – No. 2 and No. 17 – played under par on the day.
Taylor McGraw turned in the second-best card of the day for the Trojans after shooting a 7-over 79. Her round featured a pair of birdies – both on a par 5 – along with seven bogeys and a double-bogey. She is currently tied for 70th place overall after turning in the fifth-best day on the par 5s among the field of 96 golfers.
Following a rough start to her day, Fátima Fernández Cano settled down to play the final 12 holes at 1-over par. However, she opened her day with five bogeys and a double-bogey to move to 7-over par after six holes. Cano, an All-Sun Belt First Team selection, birdied No. 17 and finished the day tied for 80th after shooting an 8-over 80.
Seniors Langley Vannoy and Sydney Conrad are tied for 86th place after shooting a 9-over 81 on Thursday. Vannoy played the back nine at 3-over par and the front nine at 6-over, while Conrad dropped in third birdies on the day.
Troy will tee off beginning at 7:39 a.m. (CDT) for Friday's second round and will be paired with San Jose State and Youngstown State.
Team Standings
1. Duke 288, 2. Wake Forest 293, 3. Arizona 294, 4. UC Davis 295, T5. Kent State 296, T5. Oklahoma State, T7. Tulane 298, T7. Harvard 298, T9. Purdue 299, T9. Pepperdine 299, 11. Kentucky 301, 12. Notre Dame 302, 13. Louisville 305, 14. Eastern Kentucky 307, 15. North Carolina 308, T16. Troy 310, T16. San Jose State 310, 18 Youngstown State 311
Individual Leaders
1. Celine Boutier (Duke) 67, T2. Becca Horner (Troy) 70, T2. Isabelle Johansson (Kentucky) 70, T2. Marissa Dodd (Wake Forest) 70,
Troy Individuals
T2. Becca Horner 70, T70. Taylor McGraw 79, T80. Fátima Fernández Cano 80, T86. Sydney Conrad 81, T86. Langley Vannoy 81