Second Round Play Suspended at NCAAs; Duke in Second

Saturday, May 23

Bradenton, Fla.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two at NCAA Championship (Team Stroke Play)

Second Round Play Suspended at NCAAs; Duke in Second

5/23/2015 9:08:00 PM | Women's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

BRADENTON, Fla. – For the second straight day at the NCAA Championship, play was suspended due to inclement weather with the Duke women's golf team on the final three holes in the second round at the 6,468-yard, par 72 Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.

Duke entered Saturday's action tied first along with Stanford with five-over-par rounds of 293. Day two play featured higher scores with the Blue Devils currently sitting at 18-over-par down the stretch. The second round was halted at 7:25 p.m., due to lightning.

Southern California is five-over and leads the field with a 14-over ledger with Duke in second at 23-over. Tennessee (+27), Baylor (+28), Purdue (+33), UC Davis (+33), Arizona (+34) and Northwestern (+35) round out the top eight teams. Only eight teams finished Saturday's second round, with the leader in the clubhouse being Baylor (+28, 604).

“We are playing a very hard golf course," commented Duke head coach Dan Brooks. "They play opens so that the winner is right around even par and the best players in this tournament are right around even par. It is really, really tough. The difference between this and the U.S. Open is the players in this tournament are college players. So you end up with a big gap between the ones that are able to get it around in par and the others and it has slowed play down. It is just a lot of golf course for 24 collegiate teams. It is a tremendous golf course, wonderful. It is what it is. We are excited to be playing here. It is a challenge and we like a challenge. You will definitely see the best teams separate.”

Duke opened the second round on hole 10 and were delayed from the start. Originally supposed to start at 1:30 p.m., the first tee time didn't take place until closer to 2 p.m. The Blue Devils struggled on the opening hole totaling three bogeys, one-double-bogey and a triple-bogey on the challenging 374-yard, par four 10th hole.

Blue Devil rookies Gurbani Singh and Leona Maguire each lead Duke with two-over-par scores.

Singh, who is from New Delhi, India, featured Duke's best round for most of the day as she played her first nine holes at one-under-par, 35. After opening with a bogey on No. 10, she had six straight pars before sinking two straight birdies on No. 17 and No. 18. Singh remained one-under-par through 14 holes, but could hit her approach in the sand on the 163-yard, par three sixth hole and finished with a bogey. She then had a double-bogey on the par five seventh to drop back to two-over. Singh had a par on No. 8 and was putting for birdie on No. 9 when the horn sounded.

On the overall leaderboard, Singh is tied 14th at five-over-par.

After opening with a one-under, 71, Maguire struggled on the front nine with three bogeys and six pars as she made the turn with a 39. She had four straight pars and then rolled in her first birdie of the day on the 392-yard, par four fifth hole to get her to two-over. Maguire had a par on No. 6 and was on hole seven when play was suspended.

With three holes remaining in the second round, Maguire is third overall and three shots off individual leader Annie Park of Southern California, who is two-under-par through 11 holes. Alabama's Emma Talley is in the clubhouse with a one-under-par, 143, to rank second.

Junior Celine Boutier was having an up-and-down day as she was five-over-par through 16 holes. A product of Montrouge, France, Boutier had a team-best four birdies, but she also had four bogeys, one double-bogey and one triple-bogey. Coming into Saturday's round, Boutier had totaled only six double-bogeys or worse in 26 rounds this season. She was one-under-par over her final five holes with a birdie on No. 5 and a sand save for par on No. 6. Boutier had a par on the seventh hole and was on No. 8 when the horn sounded. She is tied 22nd at six-over-par.

After turning in a 74 on day one, sophomore Sandy Choi struggled Saturday and was nine-over-par with one hole remaining. Freshman Lisa Maguire struggled early, but settled down to play her final 10 holes at one-over-par. She went on to finish the day with an 85.

“I hit it so well,” said Singh. “The pins were very tough today compared to yesterday, but I stuck almost all of my five irons, four irons. It was just a great day today for my long game. I didn't sink all of the putts but I gave myself a lot of opportunities.”

The second round will resume at 8:25 a.m., and the third round will kick off at 8:30 a.m. If Duke remains in the top three, the Blue Devils will tee off in the third round during the afternoon.

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