Skaar Continues to Lead the Way at MGA Women's Amateur Championship

• 2022 MGA Women's Amateur Championship Round 3
• 2022 MGA Women's Amateur Championship Round 2
• 2022 MGA Women's Amateur Championship Round 1

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  ROCHESTER, Minn. – Pacing the field for a second consecutive day, North Dakota State University junior Leah Skaar posted a second-round 74 Thursday at Rochester Golf and Country Club to hold the 36-hole lead at the 2022 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship.

Skaar rallied from a string of bogeys early during her second round by carding four birdies over her final nine holes. She will take a one-stroke advantage over 2019 champion Kathryn VanArragon to Friday’s final round.

“I was happy with how I stayed in the round mentally,” Skaar said following her second round Thursday. “I got off to a shaky start with a string of bogeys—things weren’t really going my way, but I was able to comeback from that.

“I was able to turn it around and play pretty solid coming in. I made some key up-and-downs. I made a lot of bogeys, but the birdies on the back nine really helped out.”

Led by her putter during her opening round Wednesday, Skaar was unable to get anything to fall until her back nine Thursday.

“Nothing really went in for the first 10 holes,” she said. “I had my first three-putt of the tournament today, but I was finally able to roll a few in.”

Carrying a two-stroke lead over VanArragon and 2018 champion Taylor Ledwein into Thursday’s second round of play, Skaar stumbled early with four consecutive bogeys beginning at the par-4 second, dropping to 3-over for the championship.

Sinking her first birdie of the second round from six feet at the 10th put Skaar back at 2-over, but she would give a shot back at the par-3 11th, unable to get up-and-down after missing the green right.

Skaar answered by two-putting for birdie at the 12th, but again gave back a stroke with a bogey at the 14th.

Sticking both her approaches inside of 10 feet at the 15th and 16th holes, Skaar converted back-to-back birdie looks to quickly move to 1-over for the tournament. She would finish the day with a one-stroke advantage over VanArragon following a bogey at the 17th to shoot 3-over 74.

“Anything can happen to anyone, so you have to stay strong mentally,” Skaar said, looking forward to Friday’s final round. “I just need to stay confident out there.”

In search of her second win of the season this week, VanArragon carded a pair of bogeys over her front nine Thursday to turn in 1-over for the tournament.

Reaching the par-5 12th hole with her second, VanArragon two-putted for her only birdie of the second round to get back to 2-over.

A bogey at the par-4 17th would put the 2022 Class AAA individual medalist in the clubhouse with a round of at 2-over 73 to sit one shot back of Skaar.

“There were a few holes that definitely played more difficult with the conditions today, especially with the gusts that we had,” said the two-time MGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year and University of St. Thomas commit. “I only had one bad hole on the front nine.

“I was pretty steady and consistent—a lot of good shots, I just wasn’t able to convert the birdie chances. I was leaving myself with a lot of 20-footers for birdie and you can’t expect to make all or any of those.”

Closing out her front nine with three consecutive bogeys Thursday, Aayushi Sarkar tallied a pair of birdies against one bogey over her final nine holes to card a second-round 73. Sarkar begins the final round in third place at 147, three shots off the lead.

In the First Flight, University of Wisconsin-Stout junior Abbey Filipiak followed her opening-round 9-over par 80 with an 11-over par 82 in breezy conditions Thursday. Filipiak will take a six-stroke advantage over Emma Berge to Friday’s final round.

The final round of the 2022 MGA Women’s Amateur Championship is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 a.m. at Rochester Golf and Country Club.