TUCSON, Ariz. - Gonzaga University sophomore Tai Jade 'TJ' Kliebphipat put together a pair of even-round 72's Friday and is tied for 12th after 36 holes of the Mountainview Collegiate women's golf tournament hosted by the University of Missouri.
She is in a four-way tie at 144, just four strokes out of second and eight behind clubhouse leader Jennifer Brumbaugh who shot 69-67 for 136 over the 6,728-yard, par 72 Mountainview Country Club course.
The Bulldogs shot 298-301 for 599 to tie the host Tigers for ninth going into Saturday's final 18 holes which starts with a 7:30 a.m. PDT shotgun start. The two teams are nine shots behind Northwestern University in eighth place.
Texas Tech University heads the team chase with a 570 and a 6-stroke lead over Indiana University.
"The golf course was there for the taking in the morning. There was zero wind," Gonzaga head coach Brad Rickel said. "We had three good scores but just let it get away from us on the fourth score."
In addition to Kliebphipat's 72, Stephanie Corey shot 73 and Alice Kim 74. But Victoria Fallgren shot 79 and Han Wu 81.
The wind picked up to 10-15 mph during the second round, but it didn't stop Kliebphipat.
"TJ was just good all day. She came back during both rounds from being over par and would not be denied," Rickel said.
Fallgren rebounded with a second-round 69, but Wu had a 79 and Corey and Kim each shot 81.
"Stephanie and Alice both had good morning rounds but just couldn't get it going in the afternoon. Victoria had a bad start to her morning round but had a great 69 in the afternoon," Rickel noted. "Bottom line is if we don't have four solid rounds tomorrow we won't move up."
The tournament is the last of back-to-back-to-back tournaments for the Bulldogs and is the final team tourney until the West Coast Conference Championship April 16-18. The Bulldogs will host the Gonzaga Spring Invitational April 1, a 36-hole individual tournament with no team score kept.
