SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Heading into the final round of the South Bend Regional, the sixth-ranked Duke women's golf team holds the team and individual lead at the 6,301-yard, par 72 Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind.
The Blue Devils have collected rounds of 288 and 289 and lead by five strokes over Purdue (582) with a 36-hole ledger of 577. The Boilermakers turned in a team-best round of five-under, 283, Friday to move into second, while Wake Forest (585), Arizona (586), UC Davis (589), Tulane (593), Oklahoma State (594), Harvard (594), Notre Dame (595) and Kent State (598) rounded out the top 10 teams. Following Saturday's final round, the top six teams will advance to the NCAA Championship May 22-27 in Bradenton, Fla.
“We had another good day,” commented Duke head coach
Dan Brooks. “This thing really stretched out due to the rain delay. We are pretty happy with what we have done these two days.”
Just as Duke was about to finish Friday's second round, inclement weather approached and play was suspended at 2:51 p.m., with three Blue Devils still on holes 17 and 18. After a three-hour delay, play resumed and was able to finish a little after 6:00 p.m.
“We are trying to do two things,” said Brooks. “We are trying to get to nationals, but we are also trying to prepare for nationals. We are trying to get as tough as we can. So I would like to widen the gap if we can and at least come away with the win here. Hope we can put one more day of solid preparation in before nationals.”
On the individual leaderboard, Duke junior
Celine Boutier continues to hold the top slot as she carded an even-par, 72, in the second round and leads with a five-under, 139. Blue Devil freshman
Leona Maguire registered an individual-best four-under, 68, Friday to move into second place and one shot off the lead with a four-under, 140. Arizona's Lindsey Weaver is second at three-under, 141.
“Well, they have a respectful and amicable rivalry so it is nice to see that,” commented Brooks on having Boutier and Maguire atop the leaderboard. “They will make each other better and are going to be doing that for a while so it is great.”
Boutier, a native of Montrouge, France, scrambled very well early on in round two. She missed the green on No. 1 and finished with a bogey to start her day. She then made a great up-and-down from behind the green on the 143-yard, par three fourth hole and then had a sand save on No. 6 to remain at one-over-par. Boutier was at one-over until she came to the 13th hole where she sank a two-foot birdie after a great approach. She then notched another birdie on the 180-yard, par three 14th as she drained a seven-footer.
Following her birdie on No. 14 to move to one-under, Boutier headed to the 15th hole and missed the green to the right and found herself in the greenside bunker. After a great shot out of the sand, she missed a five-footer for par to fall back to even. She finished the day with three consecutive pars to total a 72. Boutier hit 12 fairways, 12 greens and had 30 putts.
“It has been a pretty long day,” said Boutier. “I am pretty happy with the way I handled it because it is not really easy to wait three hours just to have one hole done. I managed to keep my game pretty sharpe until the end so that was nice. My game is fine; I just had more trouble hitting it closer to the pin. I didn't have as many opportunities for birdie.”
After carding an even-par, 72, in round one, Maguire was one of the hottest golfers on the course early as she totaled birdies on No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 to move to three-under-par for the day. A product of Cavan, Ireland, Maguire suffered a three-putt bogey on the 397-yard, par four eighth hole and made the turn with a two-under, 34.
“I played pretty solid all day really,” commented Maguire. “I didn't get myself into too much trouble. I hit 16 greens so that was pretty stress-free considering these greens are so small. I gave myself quite a few chances. I played pretty similar to as I did yesterday. I didn't do a lot of things wrong; I just had a few more putts go in.”
On the back nine, Maguire rolled in a birdie on the 174-yard, par three 11th hole, but came back with a bogey to get move to three-under. She then registered back-to-back birdies on No. 15 and No. 16 to improve to four-under-par for the day. Maguire parred the final two holes to finish with her team-best eighth round in the 60s this season. She hit a team-high 16 greens, 12 fairways and had 30 putts to lead to her 68.
“It is nice that the team is all coming together right where we want it,” commented Maguire. “We have definitely been playing solid the last few days and hopefully we can bring that in tomorrow, put in another solid day and wrap this thing up.”
Sophomore
Sandy Choi opened her second round with bogeys on No. 1 and No. 6, but then settled down to play the next 11 holes at two-under-par. Choi, who is from Seoul, South Korea, rolled in a 15-foot birdie on No. 15 and then stuck her approach to within two feet for birdie on No. 16 to get to even par for the day. After the three-hour weather delay, Choi had a tough chip out of the rough on No. 18 and missed the green short. She ended with a bogey to finish with her second straight round of one-over-par, 73. Choi is tied 15th with a 146, after hitting a team-best 14 fairways, 11 greens and rolled 30 putts.
After opening Thursday's round strong, freshman
Gurbani Singh was limited to one birdie and finished with a 78 in the second round. A native of New Delhi, India, Singh had a birdie on No. 16 and played the final six holes at even par. She hit 12 greens, nine fairways and had 34 putts. Singh is tied 58th overall through 36 holes.
Freshman
Lisa Maguire came through with a key round of 76 Friday for the Blue Devils and will enter the third round tied 81st overall with a 158. Maguire, who is from Cavan, Ireland, opened with a par and then sank a short birdie on No. 2 to move to one-under-par. She went on to bogey the No. 5 through No. 8 holes to drop to three-over for the day. Over her final 10 holes, Maguire played at one-over with a bogey on No. 12. On the 368-yard, par four 15th, she sank a 20-foot par putt after her sand shot hit the pin and bounced away. For the day, she hit eight greens, five fairways and had 30 putts.
“Well obviously the lower I can go it is going to help the team so I am going to try to play as well as I can and the individual will be a bonus but to get the team through is the main goal,” commented
Leona Maguire on being just behind Boutier. “It is a win-win situation for both of us.”
Duke will tee off in Saturday's final round beginning at 9:39 a.m., along with Wake Forest and Purdue.
Notes:
• Duke has won the NCAA Regional eight times with the last title coming in 2013 in Norman, Okla.
• A Blue Devil golfer has won the NCAA Regional only four times – Anna Grzebien (2005), Leigh Anne Hardin (2002), Virada Nirapathpongporn (2001) and Beth Bauer (1999 – tied first).
• Duke has led after 36 holes only one time this season and the Blue Devils ended up winning the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in March.
• The Blue Devils rank tied first with the field on par threes with a 3.13 scoring average.
•
Leona Maguire's 2.75 scoring average on par threes over the 36 holes rank tied first.
•
Leona Maguire and
Celine Boutier's eight birdies over the two days rank tied first.
•
Sandy Choi's 28 pars ranks tied second.
#GoDuke
Duke Results1 1
Celine Boutier Duke 67 72 139 -5
T12 2
Leona Maguire Duke 72 68 140 -4
T16 T15
Sandy Choi Duke 73 73 146 +2
T39 T58
Gurbani Singh Duke 76 78 154 +10
T90 T81
Lisa Maguire Duke 82 76 158 +14
1 2 Team Scores1 1 Duke 288 289 577 +1
T9 2 Purdue 299 283 582 +6
2 3 Wake Forest 293 292 585 +9
3 4 Arizona 294 292 586 +10
4 5 UC Davis 295 294 589 +13
T7 6 Tulane 298 295 593 +17
T5 T7 Oklahoma State 296 298 594 +18
T7 T7 Harvard 298 296 594 +18
12 9 Notre Dame 302 293 595 +19
T5 10 Kent State 296 302 598 +22
13 11 Louisville 305 296 601 +25
11 12 Kentucky 301 301 602 +26
T9 13 Pepperdine 299 308 607 +31
15 14 North Carolina 308 302 610 +34
14 15 Eastern Kentucky 307 304 611 +35
T16 16 San Jose State 310 303 613 +37
T16 17 Troy 310 311 621 +45
18 18 Youngstown State 311 322 633 +57
Start Finish Player Team Scores1 1
Celine Boutier Duke 67 72 139 -5
T12 2
Leona Maguire Duke 72 68 140 -4
T5 3 Lindsey Weaver Arizona 71 70 141 -3
T16 4 Michaela Fletcher * Memphis 73 69 142 -2
T25 T5 August Kim Purdue 74 69 143 -1
T25 T5 Sierra Sims Wake Forest 74 69 143 -1
T2 T5 Marissa Dodd Wake Forest 70 73 143 -1
T2 T8 Isabelle Johansson Kentucky 70 74 144 E
T5 T8 Paige Lee UC Davis 71 73 144 E
T16 T10 Jordan Ferreira Notre Dame 73 72 145 +1
T5 T10 Brenna Nelsen Harvard 71 74 145 +1
T5 T10 Blair Lewis UC Davis 71 74 145 +1
T5 T10 Emma Broze Oklahoma State 71 74 145 +1
T5 T10 Allison Emrey Wake Forest 71 74 145 +1
T39 T15 Anna Appert Lund Purdue 76 70 146 +2
T39 T15 Aurora Kan Purdue 76 70 146 +2
T16 T15 Emily Penttila Tulane 73 73 146 +2
T16 T15 Katie Mitchell Louisville 73 73 146 +2
T16 T15
Sandy Choi Duke 73 73 146 +2
T16 T20 Silvia Garces Tulane 73 74 147 +3
T16 T20 Marta Martin Purdue 73 74 147 +3
T12 T20 Taylor Kim Kent State 72 75 147 +3
T31 T23 Anne Cheng Harvard 75 73 148 +4
T31 T23 Kelli Oride Notre Dame 75 73 148 +4
T31 T23 Leilanie Kim * Idaho 75 73 148 +4
T25 T23 Andrea Wong UC Davis 74 74 148 +4
T31 T23 Krystal Quihuis Arizona 75 73 148 +4
T16 T23 Manon Gidali Arizona 73 75 148 +4
T49 T29 Courtney Hooton Harvard 77 72 149 +5
T25 T29 Haley Mills Kentucky 74 75 149 +5
T25 T29 Linnea Johansson Oklahoma State 74 75 149 +5
T16 T29 Maddie McCrary Oklahoma State 73 76 149 +5
T61 T33 Madison Opfer Tulane 78 72 150 +6
T49 T33 Talia Campbell Notre Dame 77 73 150 +6
T12 T33 Josee Doyon Kent State 72 78 150 +6
T39 T33 Lexi Harkins North Carolina 76 74 150 +6
T39 T37 Katherine Zhu Pepperdine 76 75 151 +7
T31 T37 Gemma Dryburgh Tulane 75 76 151 +7
T49 T37 Madchen Ly * Fresno State 77 74 151 +7
T39 T37 Natalie Goodson Kent State 76 75 151 +7
T61 T37 Kenzie Neisen Oklahoma State 78 73 151 +7
T39 T37 Wad Phaewchimplee Kent State 76 75 151 +7
T49 T37 Emily Haas Louisville 77 74 151 +7
T49 T44 Ashley Armstrong Notre Dame 77 75 152 +8
T31 T44 Christine Lin Harvard 75 77 152 +8
T25 T44 Alina Ching Pepperdine 74 78 152 +8
T39 T44 Bryana Nguyen North Carolina 76 76 152 +8
T5 T44 Rachel Welker Eastern Kentucky 71 81 152 +8
T31 T44 Kendall Prince Arizona 75 77 152 +8
T49 T44 Regan De Guzman San Jose State 77 75 152 +8
T49 T51 Grace Rose Kentucky 77 76 153 +9
T70 T51 Elizabeth Tong * Indiana 79 74 153 +9
T39 T51 Jennifer Ha Kent State 76 77 153 +9
T49 T51 Maia Schechter North Carolina 77 76 153 +9
T49 T51 Laura Restrepo Louisville 77 76 153 +9
T86 T51 Langley Vannoy Troy 81 72 153 +9
T39 T51 Megan Osland San Jose State 76 77 153 +9
T70 T58 Martina Edberg * CSU Fullerton 79 75 154 +10
T86 T58 Katie Petrino Louisville 81 73 154 +10
T70 T58 Bev Vatananugulkit UC Davis 79 75 154 +10
T80 T58 Sofie Levin Eastern Kentucky 80 74 154 +10
T61 T58 Anna Gleixner Eastern Kentucky 78 76 154 +10
T70 T58 My Leander San Jose State 79 75 154 +10
T39 T58
Gurbani Singh Duke 76 78 154 +10
T61 T58 Erica Herr Wake Forest 78 76 154 +10
T61 T66 Kari Bellville Notre Dame 78 77 155 +11
T12 T66 Marissa Chow Pepperdine 72 83 155 +11
T70 T66 Leslie Cloots North Carolina 79 76 155 +11
T86 T66 Wanasa Zhou Arizona 81 74 155 +11
T49 T70 Belen Goicoechea Tulane 77 79 156 +12
T80 T70 Sarah Harris Kentucky 80 76 156 +12
T49 T70 Tatiana Wijaya Pepperdine 77 79 156 +12
T61 T70 Louise Oxner Louisville 78 78 156 +12
T80 T70 Elizabeth Schultz San Jose State 80 76 156 +12
T80 T70 Fatima Cano Troy 80 76 156 +12
T70 T70 Taylor McGraw Troy 79 77 156 +12
T70 T77 Gabby Yurik * Michigan State 79 78 157 +13
T94 T77 Betty Chen UC Davis 84 73 157 +13
T61 T77 Becky Sharpe Eastern Kentucky 78 79 157 +13
T31 T77 Courtney Shutt Youngstown State 75 82 157 +13
T70 T81 Tiffany Lim Harvard 79 79 158 +14
T61 T81 Isabella Deilert Oklahoma State 78 80 158 +14
T90 T81
Lisa Maguire Duke 82 76 158 +14
T70 T81 Aislynn Merling Youngstown State 79 79 158 +14
T2 T81 Becca Horner Troy 70 88 158 +14
T92 T86 Somin Lee Pepperdine 83 76 159 +15
T80 T86 Cylia Damerau Kentucky 80 79 159 +15
T94 T86 Emilie Simmons Eastern Kentucky 84 75 159 +15
T92 T86 Cheni Xu North Carolina 83 76 159 +15
T61 T86 Kathleen Rojas San Jose State 78 81 159 +15
T90 T91 Johanna Tillstrom Purdue 82 78 160 +16
T80 T91 Emily Dixon Youngstown State 80 80 160 +16
T70 93 Mariana Sims Wake Forest 79 82 161 +17
T49 94 Allison Mitzel Youngstown State 77 86 163 +19
T86 95 Sydney Conrad Troy 81 86 167 +23
96 96 Emily Rohanna Youngstown State 88 81 169 +25