Chayanun hunts for an individual national title, ISU women’s golf stay in 22nd place
Photo: William Deaton/Iowa State Daily
Iowa State’s Chonlada Chayanun gets a congratulatory high five from teammate Cajsa Persson in the second day of the 2013 Big 12 Women’s Golf Championship at the Harvester on April 20, 2013, in Rhodes, Iowa.
May 22, 2014
The rest of the ISU women’s golf team has struggled to gain momentum, but that has not stopped Chonlada Chayanun from chasing down history.
With 18 holes remaining at the NCAA Division I National Championship, Chayanun posted a second consecutive round of 1-under-par 69 in the third round to give her an even-par 210 total.
Heading into the final round May 23, Chayanun stands just three shots off of the individual lead and is tied for third place out of 126 golfers.
“She played great once again today,” ISU coach Christie Martens said in a press release. “She’s been a lot of fun to watch and done a lot of great things on the course.”
Chayanun had only gone sub-70 twice in her entire career before posting two consecutive scores of 69 this week at the national tournament.
While Chayanun will pursue an individual title, her team will look to move up on the leaderboard.
The Cyclones have been glued to the 22nd spot out of 24 teams, finishing in that position after each of the first three rounds.
For the tournament, No. 23 Iowa State has posted a 56-over-par total of 896, which included a team-best 12-over-par 292 in the third round.
Though the winds that inflated scores in the first and second rounds died down to aid scoring, Iowa State has improved its score in all three rounds, posting totals of 306, 298 and 292.
Aside from Chayanun’s career effort, Cajsa Persson and Carmen Vidau have been the next best options for Iowa State.
In round three, Persson and Vidau both posted their best round of the tournament — 73 and 75, respectively — and are tied for 93rd place with a 228 tournament total.
Like Vidau, Sasikarn On-iam and Prima Thammaraks also posted 75s in the third round.
On-iam is tied for 109th place with a 231 total and Thammaraks is tied for 116th place with a total of 233.
Iowa State will be in the first group off in the morning for the final round. It will be grouped with No. 45 Campbell (23rd place, +57) and No. 29 Kansas (24th, +69).
Iowa State’s closest competitors, California and Michigan State, lead the Cyclones by six shots. 50 shots separate Iowa State from first-place Duke.
