Golf Finishes Strong, Shows Improvement in NCAA Regional Second Round

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (May 10, 2022) – The Northern Arizona golf team bounced back over the final nine holes and improved upon their first round score, ultimately posting a 17-over par 305 on Tuesday at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional. Through two rounds, the Lumberjacks remain in 12th on the team leaderboard at 38-over par 614 (309-305).
 
"Once again, overall I thought we played well," said head coach Brad Bedortha. "Lorel (Hayward) played great all day and Ashley (Croft) played really well all day until the last hole. We did some good things and they have great attitudes. It's been fun to watch."
 
No. 2 Oregon continues to lead the field at 8-under par 568 (284-284). Georgia moved up two spots to second after a 4-under par 284 as well, while No. 13 Texas and TCU currently holding down the final two NCAA Championship qualifying spots going into Wednesday's third round.
 
Opening on the back nine, the Lumberjacks combined to shoot 12-over par over their first nine holes of the day at the UNM Championship Course. At the turn though, led by junior Lorel Hayward's 2-under par on the front nine, NAU played the final nine holes on Tuesday to a combined 5-over par.
 
Hayward's front nine, which consisted of seven pars and two birdies on the par-4 holes 5 and 7, propelled her to the lowest round by a Lumberjack through the first two days. Hayward righted the ship after consecutive bogeys to begin the round, and finished with a 1-over par 73.
 
Hayward is NAU's high individual in a tie for 44th entering the third round at 8-over par 152 (79-73). Amongst a six-way tie for 53rd at 10-over par 154 are seniors Ashley Croft (79-75) and Aleksandra Chekalina (76-78) and sophomore Ekaterina Malakhova (75-79).
 
Croft carded the Lumberjacks' next lowest round of the day at 3-over par 75. After a bogey on her first holes, Croft recorded par on four of her next five holes and posted a birdie on the par-4 15 that put her at even-par through seven holes.
 
Croft was sensational sitting at 1-over par for the day all the way until her final hole of the day before concluding the afternoon with a double bogey. Still, she improved her first round score by four strokes and heads into the last round with a team-high four birdies in the tournament, which matches Hayward for the team-lead.
 
Chekalina and Hayward both totaled a team-high 13 pars on the day with the former now totaling 27 in the first two rounds. Chekalina's 27 pars are tied for sixth-most in the field.
 
Malakhova, who entered the day with the team's low score, struggled through the first nine holes playing the back nine to 5-over par. However, the Big Sky individual champion settled in and parred seven of her last nine holes and capped the afternoon by shooting 2-over par on the front nine.
 
NAU will be paired with North Texas and New Mexico State on the final day of competition on Wednesday. Croft will tee off on the back nine on hole 10 at 8:17 a.m. MST with Chekalina (8:28 a.m. MST), Malakhova (8:39 a.m. MST) and Hayward (8:50 a.m. MST) following in order.
 
Live scoring is available on Golfstat.
 
To stay up to date with the NAU golf team, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter and Instagram.
 
Full Team Leaderboard
1. Oregon – 284-284 = 568 (-8)
2. Georgia – 292-284 = 576 (E)
3. Texas – 287-290 = 577 (+1)
4. TCU – 292-291 = 583 (+7)
5. Florida – 288-296 = 584 (+8)
T6. Arizona – 293-295 = 588 (+12)
T6. Sam Houston – 302-286 = 588 (+12)
8. Louisville – 295-296 = 591 (+15)
9. Oklahoma – 299-303 = 602 (+26)
10. North Texas – 296-307 = 603 (+27)
11. New Mexico State – 302-304 = 606 (+30)
12. Northern Arizona – 309-305 = 614 (+38)
 
NAU Individual Scores
T44. Lorel Hayward – 79-73 = 152 (+8)
T53. Ashley Croft – 79-75 = 154 (+10)
T53. Aleksandra Chekalina – 76-78 = 154 (+10)
T53. Ekaterina Malakhova – 75-79 = 154 (+10)