Lillie advances to final round at NCAA Championships

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Posted on Sunday, May. 23, 2021, 10:09 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

golfBeth Lillie shot even par 72 during the third round of the NCAA Championships to be tied for 16th place at 2-over 218.

Because of her position in the field, Lillie (Fullerton, Calif.) made the 54-hole cut and will advance to Monday’s final round of competition.

Following Sunday’s third round, the field of 30 teams was cut to the top 15 teams for the final round of the team competition to determine the eight teams that will move on to match play. The top nine individuals not on an advancing team also qualified for the final round of the stroke play championship. Lillie was included in that group of players.

Lillie opened her third round with a birdie on Grayhawk Golf Club’s first hole and then ran into a two-hole stretch of trouble. She made bogey on the third hole and double-bogey on the fourth hole. That was her first score higher than bogey during the tournament.

She posted back-to-back birdies on No. 7 and 8 and then ran off 10 consecutive pars to finish her round with a 72.

“We are proud of Beth for advancing to the final round of stroke play,” said UVA head coach Ria Scott. “She is doing a great job of playing within herself, and we believe her game is in a great place to play well tomorrow.

“The wind shifting often made some of the hole locations very challenging today and she did a great job playing conservatively when she needed to and being aggressive when she had that option.”

This is Lillie’s third appearance at the NCAA Championships. She played in the tournament in both 2018 and 2019 when the Cavaliers qualified as a team. Her best finish was 43rd during her sophomore season.

Stanford’s Rachel Heck carries a five-shot lead into Monday’s final round for medalist honors. She leads the 132-player field at 10-under 206. Her Cardinal teammate Angelina Ye is in second place at 5-under 211. Stanford also leads the team competition at 18-under 846. The next closest team, Duke, is 20 shots behind the Cardinal.

Golf Channel will provide live coverage from the NCAA Championships on Monday starting at 5 p.m. ET. Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com and NCAA.com.