Jasmine Koo's ace, USC transfer help Trojans move into tie for lead at Annika Intercollegiate
LAKE ELMO, Minn. — Jasmine Koo smiled when she heard the question, and she quickly responded.
“Eight,” she said when asked how many holes-in-one she now had.
Not too shabby for the sophomore at USC.
Koo, who won four times as a freshman last season, hit a 5-iron from 170 yards on the par-3 fourth hole at Royal Golf Club on Tuesday, making an ace en route to shooting 4-under 69, one of two rounds in the 60s for the Trojans in the second round. Elise Lee, a transfer from defending national champion Northwestern, fired a 4-under 68, and the duo helped USC move into a tie for first after the second round of the 2025 Annika Intercollegiate.
Koo’s ace was one of two eagles USC had on the day; Lee made the other on the par-5 ninth. She was 5 under thru 10 holes but made one bogey coming in to sign for her 68.
Lee was one of nine players who had to sit through a two-hour weather delay before finishing their round. Lightning surrounded Royal Golf Club, and play didn’t finish until 5:35 p.m. CDT. But, Lee sits T-2 after 36 holes, one back of leader Eila Galitsky, a sophomore at South Carolina.
USC is tied with Wake Forest on top of the leaderboard. The Demon Deacons, the 2022 champions at the Annika Intercollegiate, shot 7 under as a team and are at 1 under overall, with them and USC five ahead of third-place Texas, which finished with the best team round of the day at 9 under.
Chloe Kovelesky, a sophomore at Wake Forest, had an incredible start, going birdie-eagle-birdie. She had consecutive bogeys on Nos. 9-10, but three birdies on the back nine helped her sign for the best round of the day at 5-under 67. She’s tied with Lee, one shot behind Galitsky.
Texas’ Angela Heo also fired a 67 on Tuesday, one of three Longhorns to finish under par.
Two-time defending tournament champion South Carolina is in fifth at 8 over and nine behind the co-leaders.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: How an ace and transfer helped USC tie lead at Annika Intercollegiate
