Arkansas tied for second after first round

FAYETTEVILLE – The 16th-ranked University of Arkansas women’s golf team finds themselves in a holding patterned late Monday afternoon at the BYU Dixie Classic in St. George, Utah. Arkansas and the rest of the field, battled 40 mile per hour winds, a steady drizzle and, at times, downpours in a six-and-a-half hour first round, the first of two rounds scheduled for Monday. After a long delay, the second round on Monday was cancelled. Arkansas posted one of the highest scores in the Kelley Hester era with a 330 to tie for second overall. UNLV leads the field at 320 followed by Arkansas and Portland State locked at 330. I really don’t know what to say,” said Hester. “It’s a hard course and hard conditions but we can play better. Today was a mental toughness check and we didn’t do so well. I still expect our kids to rise to the occasion and play better. We faced some extremely windy conditions and a good prep for Regionals. We’re going to have to play better in it. We’re going to try and regroup and see what we can do tomorrow.” Junior Amanda McCurdy and junior Lindsey Hinshaw tied for ninth overall with rounds of 81. Junior Country Mahon and redshirt freshman Stacy Lewis were the first Lady’Backs off the course in the first round both carding plus-12 84s. Assistant coach Shauna Estes noted that golfers who were missing the fairways found themselves in a rocky rough that included lava rocks that were not forgiving. Lewis and Mahon finished the day tied for 29th overall. Ashley Medders rounded out the scoring for Arkansas with an 88 to tie for 51st overall. Arkansas faces final round action beginning at 9:30 a.m., Central. For more information log on to LADYBACKS.COM.