MARICOPA, Ariz. – With two runner-up finishes at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in the past four years, Santa Clara women's golf is looking for a breakthrough. With a 36-hole total of 12-over 588, the Broncos find themselves just two-shots off the lead heading into Tuesday's final round.

Santa Clara struggled in the opening round of its previous three tournaments scoring at or above 300 as a team. However, with freshman Claire Choi and sophomore Sarah Busey scoring below par on Monday, the Broncos carded a 289 to grab the 18-hole lead.

A second-round 299 dropped Santa Clara into a second-place tie with New Mexico State, two swings behind UTEP.

"We played really well in the first round," head coach Krystal Kelly noted. "It was nice to see a solid opening 18 holes."

With scores of 71 and 70, Busey continued her solid play by going below par in each of her last four rounds. She's alone in fifth-place at 3-under, five shots behind second-round leader Suthavee Chanachai of New Mexico State.

Sophomore Emily Sumner signed a second-round 1-under 71 and has seventh-place all to herself with a total of 143.

After her opening 2-under 70, Choi battled in the afternoon, ending with an 81 to fall into a tie for 41st at 7-over 151.

Freshman Duong Tran carded rounds of 76 and 80 for a share of 72nd at 156, one shot better than teammate Marni Murez and five other golfers at 157.

"We struggled on a few holes in the afternoon," Kelly noted. "The heat was really challenging later in the day."

The field will avoid the afternoon heat with a single 18-hole final round scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. PT. Live scoring updates will be available at Golfstat.com.

Santa Clara Second Round Individual Results

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