April 28, 2012

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PULLMAN, Wash. - The No. 9 California Golden Bears, with the help of three under-par rounds including a 68 by senior Daniela Holmqvist, moved into first place after the second round of the Pac-12 Championships in Pullman, Wash.

The Pac-12 Championship Tournament, being played at the par-72 6,200 yard Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman, Wash., had a Saturday second round that was played under much more mild conditions than Thursday's shortened practice round and Friday's opening round. Though the temperature was still slightly chilly (in the 50's), the gusty winds and rains were absent in the second round.

The Bears took advantage of the improved conditions, dropping 23 strokes off their opening round score to finish on Saturday with a five-under, 283.

"We began the day playing very steady," said head coach Nancy McDaniel. "Coming around ten, we saw that Colorado started making a lot of birdies and making a charge. We kept the players super-positive and told them to stay patient. That patience really payed off."

Senior Daniela Holmqvist led the surge for the Bears, shooting a four-under 68. Holmqvist, who made the turn at even-par, birdied her final three holes to finish at four-under. She is currently tied for the overall lead with Arizona State's Giulia Molinaro at +1 after starting the round in a tie for 16th place.

Junior Jackie Williams also had an under-par round, shooting a one-under 71. Williams bogeyed her first hole and then went bogey-free on the final 17. She had a pair of birdies on 16 and 17 to card her 71.

"I was very impressed with Jackie's solid play today," McDaniel said. "It was great to see her come back like that after shooting a much higher number on Friday."

Senior Joanne Lee also came in with a one-under 71. Lee was at -3 after ten holes, but bogeyed 13 and 16 to finish at -1. She is currently tied for seventh overall at +4.

Senior Emily Childs shot a one-over 73, getting a birdie on 18 to close out her round.

"Emily did a great job of playing steady after getting off to a rocky start," McDaniel said. "She worked really hard to not get frustrated and not give up. She had a fantastic eight-footer for birdie on 18 after a hot wedge shot. The conversion was what initially put us one stroke ahead of Colorado and into the lead."

Going into Sunday's final round, the Bears have a three-stroke lead over Colorado, five stroke lead over No. 1-ranked UCLA, and six strokes on USC.

"All year long, we have been saying that this is a team that can compete," McDaniel said. "Today, we looked each other in the eye and went out there and did it. We haven't been in a position in awhile to possibly win a conference championship. We are excited about the opportunity. Everyone is contributing right now. And with the leadership of our three seniors, I think we are ready for tomorrow."

The Bears won the Pac-10 title at the 2003 championships. Former Golden Bear Vikki Laing was the individual medalist that same year. It was the only time the Bears have won the team title or have had a player earn the individual medalist honors.

The Bears will be in the final group to tee off on Sunday with tee times starting at 9:20 a.m. Live Scoring will be available through Golfstat.com.

California Scores

1 	California 	    306 	283 	589
T1 	Daniela Holmqvist  	77 	68 	145
T7 	Joanne Lee      	77 	71 	148
T13 	Emily Childs    	76 	73 	149
T34 	Nicola Roessler  	76 	77 	153
50 	Jaqueline Williams  	89 	71 	160

Team Scores

1 California
	+13 	F 	  -5 	306 	283 	589
2 Colorado
	+16 	F 	  -4 	308 	284 	592
3 UCLA
	+18 	F 	  +2 	304 	290 	594
4 Southern Cal
	+19 	F 	  +1 	306 	289 	595
5 Arizona State
	+21 	F 	  +10 	299 	298 	597
6 Arizona
	+27 	F 	 E 	315 	288 	603
7 Oregon
	+31 	F 	  +12 	307 	300 	607
8 Stanford
	+32 	F 	 E 	320 	288 	608
T9 Washington State
	+33 	F 	  +9 	312 	297 	609
T9 Washington
	+33 	F 	  +6 	315 	294 	609
11 Oregon State
	+41 	F 	  +12 	317 	300 	617