Duan’s Career-Best Round Fuels Huskers

Maineville, Ohio – Alice Duan matched the best round of her collegiate career with a four-under-par 68 to keep Nebraska in the hunt for a conference title at the Big Ten Women’s Golf Championship on Saturday.

Duan, a graduate transfer from Reno, Nev., scorched the front nine on the 6,300-yard TPC River’s Bend Golf Course with a four-under-par 32, before adding an even-par 36 on the back to match the best round of her five-year college career with a 68 (-4). Duan played Saturday’s first 15 holes at five-under with 10 pars and five birdies before back-to-back bogeys on No. 16 and 17 slowed her momentum. However, she rallied with a birdie on No. 18 to close the day.

“Alice put on a clinic out there today,” Nebraska Coach Lisa Johnson said. “She impressed with birdies early and often, and played her way out of some challenging situations on the back nine.”

Duan’s impressive round along with a one-under-par 71 from Kate Smith, an even-par 72 from Kirsten Baete and a one-over 73 from Megan Whittaker gave Nebraska its best team round of the season with a four-under-par 284.

Through two rounds, Nebraska sits at 577 (+1) in a tie with No. 30 Northwestern in fourth place in the 13-team tournament. The Huskers will enter Sunday’s final round 10 strokes behind tournament co-leaders No. 19 Maryland and No. 38 Michigan State (567). The Big Red are just three shots behind No. 25 Michigan, which closed the day at 574.

“We have shown great discipline on our approach shots, which has given us lots of looks at birdies. We are thrilled to shoot our lowest round of the year at the championship,” Johnson said. “The team is showing great poise, determination and grit. We are excited for the final round tomorrow. This course is in pristine condition and lots of fun to play. We are having a blast this week.”

Individually, Duan is in the thick of the Big Ten title race with a 36-hole score of 141 (-3). Duan is in a four-way tie for third, just two shots back of tournament leader Laura Van Respaillie from Maryland, who closed the day at 139 (-5). Duan is one shot back of Michigan State’s Leila Raines, who sits in second at 140 (-4). Raines led the tournament after the opening round.

Smith, a senior from Detroit Lakes, Minn., is also well within striking distance of the top spot, sitting at 143 (-1) in a tie for eighth through two rounds, just four strokes off the lead. Smith’s second round included three birdies on the front nine to more than offset a pair of bogeys as she took the turn Saturday at one-under-par. Like Duan, Smith played the back nine even at 36, including a birdie on No. 18.

Baete, a junior from Beatrice, Neb., climbed 15 spots on the individual leader board on Saturday with her 72. Through the first 16 holes, Baete was solid with 14 pars and two bogeys before finishing strong with back-to-back birdies on No. 17 and 18 to make par for the round. She heads to the final round in a tie for 28th at 148 (+4).

Whittaker, a junior from Elkhorn, Neb., added another strong round Saturday after opening with a 72 of her own on Friday while playing out of the No. 5 five spot in Nebraska’s six-count-four lineup. Whittaker, who heads to the final round in a tie for 19th at 145 (+1), notched 15 pars to go with one birdie and two bogeys on Saturday.

Nebraska makes its closing push for a Big Ten title and its best conference finish since joining the league in 2011-12 with the final round on Sunday. Tee times are set to begin at 7 a.m. (CT) with live scoring from GolfStat.com.

Big Ten Championship

TPC River’s Bend (Maineville, Ohio)

Par 72, 6,300 Yards

April 23-25, 2021

Team Leader Board (Second Round)

2. Maryland (19) – 287-280-567 (-9)

1. Michigan State (38) – 286-281-567 (-9)

3. Michigan (25) – 290-284-574 (-2)

T4. Nebraska (55) – 293-284-577 (+1)

T4. Northwestern (30) – 291-286-577 (+1)

6. Purdue (42) – 295-291-586 (+10)

7. Penn State (72) – 297-292-589 (+13)

8. Wisconsin (85) – 310-282-592 (+16)

9. Iowa (84) – 297-296-593 (+17)

10. Minnesota (74) – 305-290-595 (+19)

11. Illinois (41) – 299-299-598 (+22)

12. Rutgers (116) – 298-302-600 (+24)

13. Indiana (147) – 320-301-621 (+45)

national ranking in parentheses

Individual Leader Board (First Round)

1. Laura Van Respaille, Maryland – 70-69-139 (-5)

2. Leila Raines, Michigan State – 69-71-140 (-4)

T3. Alice Duan, Nebraska – 73-68-141 (-3)

T3. Xiaolin Tian, Maryland – 72-69-141 (-3)

T3. Ashley Lau, Michigan – 71-70-141 (-3)

T3. Kan Bunnabodee, Purdue – 70-71-141 (-3)

7. Sarah Willis, Penn State – 75-67-142 (-2)

T8. Kate Smith, Nebraska – 72-71-143 (-1)

T8. Valery Plata, Michigan State – 75-68-143 (-1)

T8. Irene Kim, Northwestern – 73-70-143 (-1)

T8. Brooke Riley, Northwestern 72-71-143 (-1)

T8. Monet Chun, Michigan – 71-72-143 (-1)

T8. Patricie Mackova, Maryland – 70-73-143 (-1)

Nebraska Individuals

T3. Alice Duan – 73-68-141 (-3)

T8. Kate Smith – 72-71-143 (-1)

T19. Megan Whittaker – 72-73-145 (+1)

T28. Kirsten Baete – 76-72-148 (+4)

T46. Michaela Vavrova – 76-75-151 (+7)

72. Lindsey Thiele – 81-79-160 (+16)