WEST POINT — Something like this has been a long time coming for Clara Moyano.
Moyano’s potential already had been proven. At Idaho, she was a Big Sky All-Conference selection who tied for second as an individual in the conference tournament. But prior to the second round of the Magnolia Invitational, all the Mississippi State women’s golf team had seen out of Moyano was bits and pieces of her potential.
Everything came together Monday with nice timing.
After MSU shot an 8-over-par in the first round that left it in fifth place, Moyano’s 3-under 69 led MSU to a 1-over that bumped it up to fourth.
MSU, which is co-hosting the tournament at Old Waverly Golf Club with Ole Miss, will try to make up more ground against leader Ole Miss (9-under) and second-place Tennessee (3-over) today in a final round.
“I think they were a little calmer,” MSU coach Ginger Brown-Lemm said of her team. “While you’re playing good and you want to play good for your home course and your people, it’s also quite pressurized. I think they were a lot more calm.”
After a Sunday in which birdies were hard to come by, Moyano birdied her first two holes Monday. She said she made about 10-foot putts for each after good approach shots.
“She’s been on the cusp for weeks. One day she wouldn’t make putts, the next day she’d hit her driver bad and everything else was perfect,” Brown-Lemm said. “It’s one of those things where you have to be patient, wait for all things to be good and you’re solid.”
Still, the round wasn’t smooth sailing. She finished the front nine at 2-under and birdied No. 10 to get to 3-under, but she double bogeyed the par-3 No. 12. Moyano’s tee shot, mishit but far from a disaster, caught an unfortunate lie on the edge of a greenside bunker. It forced a second shot that didn’t leave her in scoring position. All things considered, Brown-Lemm said Moyano “really did just get a raw deal and made the best of it.”
Moving on from it was easy.
“I knew more birdies were going to come,” Moyano said.
Moyano got back on track with two pars before birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 returned her to 3-under. She ended her round with consecutive pars.
Moyano wasn’t the only Bulldog who showed progress. Athena Yang improved by a stroke, Kendall Wisenbaker improved by two to get to an even par, and Katie Holt was shot an even-par 72 after finishing 1-over Sunday.
MSU enters the final round trailing third-place Memphis by three strokes.
Ole Miss took over the tournament with a 10-under Sunday. It did little to relinquish that stranglehold with a 1-over Monday. Ole Miss coach Kory Henkes said the two rounds are a significant step forward.
“It’s kind of neat to see them disappointed at 1-over,” Henkes said. “I think the main thing is we’re hitting the ball well and making better decisions, course management-wise.”
Ole Miss’ play on the par 4s has helped it take control. For the most part, the par 5s have presented the birdie opportunities and most of the field is slightly over par on the par 3s. Ole Miss has played the par 4s at 5-over. No other team has done better than 12-over.
“In the practice round we spend a lot of time on course management and club choice,” Henkes said. “Everyone does that, but the team is doing a good job of sticking to the plan.”
Putting helps, too. MSU was paired with Ole Miss for the first round and as Brown-Lemm walked the course with her players, she saw Ole Miss, “making every putt they looked at.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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