BATON ROUGE, La. – Led by under par rounds from junior
Sandy Choi and sophomore
Leona Maguire, the top-seeded and fourth-ranked Duke women's golf team turned in a one-under-par, 287, Friday on its way to moving up three slots to fourth overall with 18 holes remaining at the NCAA Regionals in Baton Rouge, La.
The Blue Devils carded the tied for second-best 18-hole score of the day with a one-under, 287, at the 6,285-yard, par 72 University Club. The Blue Devils were 11 shots better than Thursday and have collected rounds of 298 and 287 over the first two days.
South Carolina took a commanding lead Friday with an 11-under-par, 277, and now sits nine-under-par (567) through two days of play. Washington (575), Florida (580), Duke (585), Oregon (588), Brigham Young (588), Arizona State (594), Houston (595), East Carolina (602) and Harvard (603) round out the top 10.
“We had a solid round,” said Duke head coach
Dan Brooks. “We're playing a really good course. I'm glad we got to come here (to Baton Rouge) because you want Regionals to be on a really solid golf course, so you can separate a little bit. Right now, I'm happy about the fact that we were in the position we were in yesterday (t-7th) and we had to stay patient and keep believing to get where we are now. We have to do that again, but I think it's always a good experience. It's something I can remind the team, that when they were a little bit back they just stayed patient. The fact that it worked out makes it a great thing.”
The top six teams following Saturday's final round will advance to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., May 20-25.
Choi carded a three-under-par, 69, while Maguire signed for a two-under, 70, Friday to boost the Blue Devils up the leaderboard.
“My shots were really good,” said Choi. “I was sticking a lot of them close to the pins and then my putting was also good as I made a lot of clutch putts. It was a bogey-free round so it was a good round.”
A native of Seoul, South Korea, Choi registered her third career round in the 60s during NCAA action and enters the final round tied third overall, six shots out of the lead. She owns rounds of 73 and 69 for a two-under, 142.
South Carolina's Katelyn Dambaugh shot a six-under-par, 66, Friday and leads the tournament with an eight-under, 136. Only seven golfers remain in red numbers for the tournament with Choi and Maguire two of them.
Choi's bogey-free round was helped by hitting all nine greens on the front nine. She collected her first birdie of the day on the 496-yard, par five third and then was on the par five sixth in two, before rolling in another birdie. After making nine consecutive pars, she sank a four-foot birdie on No. 16 to get to three-under. Choi notched key up-and-downs on No. 11 and then on No. 18, after hitting her approach shot over the green. She drained a four-foot par on 18 to keep her score intact. For the second consecutive day, Choi hit 15 greens and also hit 13 fairways and 31 putts.
“The wind actually wasn't too bad today,” commented Choi. “It was worse yesterday. I was able to hit a lot of drivers off the tee and hit it pretty far. With me I don't hit it quite as far as the other girls. The wind not picking up this morning really helped me.”
The round of 69 was one shot off her career-best ledger of 68, which happened in the second round as a freshman at the NCAA regional in Tallahassee, Fla. She went on to finish tied seventh overall.
Maguire opened the day on fire as she was three-under through six holes. A product of Cavan, Ireland, Maguire rolled in short birdies on No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 to get to red numbers. After hitting her drive on No. 6 off the fairway to the right, she suffered one of only two bogeys on the day. Maguire got the stroke back on the 394-yard, par four ninth with a five-foot birdie.
“I gave myself a lot more chances today,” said Maguire. “I hit a lot of greens and I guess it wasn't as windy today so it was a little easier from that standpoint. I probably didn't quite hole as many putts today as I did yesterday. In general, it was just pretty solid from tee to green. I holed a few putts on the front nine, probably didn't hole as many on the back nine. I was pretty happy in general.”
On the back nine, she totaled four straight pars on holes 10-13, but then had another bogey on No. 14. Maguire remarkably hit the pin on back-to-back chip shots on No. 13 and No. 14, but the ball would not fall in the hole on either shot. She closed the day with four consecutive pars to finish with her team-best 13th round of even or under par on the season. Over the first two days, Maguire has notched rounds of 73 and 70 for a one-under, 143, and is tied sixth overall. She hit 14 greens, 12 fairways and had 29 putts Friday.
“I think they played smart and they just had a few more things go their way today,” commented Brooks on the play of Choi and Maguire. I saw Leona play quite a bit today and she left a lot of low scores out there. Her low round might be tomorrow.”
Freshman
Virginia Elena Carta had a slow start to the day with bogeys on No. 1 and No. 3, but would go on to play the final 15 holes at two-under to finish at even par, 72. She enters the final round tied 25th overall with a 148. Carta collected her first birdie of the day on the 448-yard, par five 14th as she hit her three wood to within five feet for eagle. She then had a great chip on No. 15 to save par and closed her day with a six-foot, uphill birdie on No. 18 to finish at even par. Carta, who is from Udine, Italy, hit a team-best 16 greens, 12 fairways and had 36 putts.
Duke sophomore
Gurbani Singh played her first 14 holes at one-over-par, before suffering bogeys on three of her final four holes to finish with her second straight round of 76. She owns a 36-hole ledger of 152 and is tied 46th overall. Singh, who hails from New Delhi, India, hit six straight greens on the front nine from holes 3-8 and rolled her lone birdie of the day on No. 3, which was a nine-foot putt. She didn't miss a fairway until hole 18, when she hit her drive into the water and suffered a bogey. Singh hit 13 fairways, 12 greens and had 33 putts.
After winning the individual title in March on the same course, senior
Celine Boutier continued to struggle in the second round and signed for a 78. She is tied 72nd with a 13-over, 157. Boutier couldn't get things going again Friday, but did register he second eagle of the tournament to lead the field. A native of Montrouge, France, Boutier hit her second shot to within three feet and sank her eagle putt on the par five sixth.
Duke notched 11 birdies in the second round, after totaling nine the day before. The big difference in the second round for the Blue Devils was limiting the double-bogeys as Duke only had one Friday as opposed to four Thursday.
“We definitely came back from yesterday,” said Choi. “I believe that my team – we can actually win this thing. We are 11 back right now and the other groups haven't finished yet. I see a lot of potential in our team and I hope that we can get it back tomorrow to.”
Duke will tee off Saturday in the final round beginning at 8:24 a.m., along with Oregon and BYU.
“I don't do a lot of speeches,” commented Brooks. “Today, I just mentioned patience and said 'if you want to say a word over and over to yourself, just say the word patience'.”
#GoDukeDuke ResultsT15 T3
Sandy Choi Duke 73 69 142 -2
T15 T6
Leona Maguire Duke 73 70 143 -1
T42 T25
Virginia Elena Carta Duke 76 72 148 +4
T42 T46
Gurbani Singh Duke 76 76 152 +8
T68 T72
Celine Boutier Duke 79 78 157 +13
1 2 Team Scores2 1 South Carolina 290 277 567 -9
1 2 Washington 286 289 575 -1
4 3 Florida 293 287 580 +4
T7 4 Duke 298 287 585 +9
3 T5 Oregon 292 296 588 +12
T7 T5 Brigham Young 298 290 588 +12
6 7 Arizona State 296 298 594 +18
5 8 Houston 295 300 595 +19
10 9 East Carolina 301 301 602 +26
12 10 Harvard 308 295 603 +27
9 11 LSU 299 310 609 +33
13 12 Augusta 311 301 612 +36
11 13 North Carolina State 307 307 614 +38
16 14 Denver 315 304 619 +43
14 15 Wichita State 312 308 620 +44
15 T16 New Mexico 313 309 622 +46
T17 T16 North Florida 322 300 622 +46
T17 18 Fairleigh Dickinson 322 313 635 +59
Start Finish Player Team ScoresT3 1 Katelyn Dambaugh South Carolina 70 66 136 -8
T15 2 Charlotte Thomas Washington 73 67 140 -4
T15 T3
Sandy Choi Duke 73 69 142 -2
T15 T3 Lea Garner Brigham Young 73 69 142 -2
T3 T3 Julianne Alvarez Washington 70 72 142 -2
T15 T6
Leona Maguire Duke 73 70 143 -1
T1 T6 Ying Luo Washington 69 74 143 -1
T10 T8 Elise Bradley LSU 72 72 144 E
T7 T8 Linnea Strom Arizona State 71 73 144 E
T32 T8 Sarah Schmelzel South Carolina 75 69 144 E
T32 T11 Anna Zhou Harvard 75 70 145 +1
T3 T11 Madison Talley * Kansas State 70 75 145 +1
T25 T11 Karolina Vlckova Florida 74 71 145 +1
T42 T11 Ainhoa Olarra South Carolina 76 69 145 +1
T25 T11 Petra Salko Oregon 74 71 145 +1
T42 T16 F. Gustafsson Spang East Carolina 76 70 146 +2
T10 T16 Meghan MacLaren * Florida International 72 74 146 +2
T25 T16 Yuka Kajiki Houston 74 72 146 +2
T15 T16 Madison Kerley Arizona State 73 73 146 +2
T1 T16 Leonie Harm Houston 69 77 146 +2
T7 T16 Maria Torres Florida 71 75 146 +2
T7 T16 Cathleen Santoso Oregon 71 75 146 +2
T15 T23 Josefine Nyqvist Augusta 73 74 147 +3
T3 T23 Marion Veysseyre South Carolina 70 77 147 +3
T42 T25
Virginia Elena Carta Duke 76 72 148 +4
T25 T25 Brooklyn Hocker Brigham Young 74 74 148 +4
T15 T25 Chieh Jessica Peng * Mississippi St. U. 73 75 148 +4
T42 T25 Taylor Tomlinson Florida 76 72 148 +4
T50 T25 Eunice Yi Augusta 77 71 148 +4
T50 T25 Manon Molle New Mexico 77 71 148 +4
T32 T25 Isi Nilsson South Carolina 75 73 148 +4
T74 T32 Samantha Wagner Florida 80 69 149 +5
T10 T32 Kelly Grassel Florida 72 77 149 +5
T32 T32 Caroline Inglis Oregon 75 74 149 +5
T42 T35 Alex White Brigham Young 76 74 150 +6
T10 T35 Rachael Taylor North Carolina State 72 78 150 +6
T25 T35 Marcella Pranovia Oregon 74 76 150 +6
T25 T35 Wenyung Keh Washington 74 76 150 +6
T15 T35 Kathleen Scavo Oregon 73 77 150 +6
T50 T40 Anne Cheng Harvard 77 74 151 +7
T32 T40 Catherine Ashworth East Carolina 75 76 151 +7
T10 T40 Nico Engstroem Skaug East Carolina 72 79 151 +7
T32 T40 Raegan Bremer Houston 75 76 151 +7
T32 T40 Monica Vaughn Arizona State 75 76 151 +7
T50 T40 Mary Dawson North Florida 77 74 151 +7
T42 T46
Gurbani Singh Duke 76 76 152 +8
T15 T46 Ashley Holder * UCF 73 79 152 +8
T84 T46 Emelie Alpe North Florida 82 70 152 +8
T32 T49 Rose Huang Brigham Young 75 78 153 +9
T42 T49 Lita Guo Harvard 76 77 153 +9
T50 T49 Emily Gilbreth Houston 77 76 153 +9
T50 T49 Roberta Liti Arizona State 77 76 153 +9
T50 T49 Megan Thothong Houston 77 76 153 +9
T61 T49 Mariell Bruun Denver 78 75 153 +9
T80 T55 Sarah Bae North Carolina State 81 73 154 +10
T68 T55 India Clyburn North Carolina State 79 75 154 +10
T15 T55 Sydney Cavin LSU 73 81 154 +10
T61 T55 Ji Eun Baik * Mississippi St. U. 78 76 154 +10
T50 T55 Emma Svensson * Central Arkansas 77 77 154 +10
T68 T55 Bryce Schroeder Wichita State 79 75 154 +10
T32 T55 Taryn Torgerson Wichita State 75 79 154 +10
T32 T55 Jessica Dreesbeimdieke Denver 75 79 154 +10
T80 T63 Michelle Xie Harvard 81 74 155 +11
T50 T63 Nadine Dreher LSU 77 78 155 +11
T68 T65 Kate Law East Carolina 79 77 156 +12
T61 T65 Lisa Pettersson East Carolina 78 78 156 +12
T50 T65 Kathleen Gallagher LSU 77 79 156 +12
T50 T65 Sophia Zeeb Arizona State 77 79 156 +12
T61 T65 Darian Zachek New Mexico 78 78 156 +12
T61 T65 Sarah Rhee Washington 78 78 156 +12
T68 T65 Jessica Carty Denver 79 77 156 +12
T68 T72
Celine Boutier Duke 79 78 157 +13
T74 T72 Christine Lin Harvard 80 77 157 +13
T42 T72 Leonie Bettel North Carolina State 76 81 157 +13
T80 T72 Gabriela Santini Fairleigh Dickinson 81 76 157 +13
T91 T76 Kendra Dalton Brigham Young 85 73 158 +14
T61 T76 Ingrid Gutierrez New Mexico 78 80 158 +14
T84 T76 Anneke Strobach Fairleigh Dickinson 82 76 158 +14
T25 T79 Jessica Haigwood Augusta 74 85 159 +15
T68 T79 Rebecca Wright Fairleigh Dickinson 79 80 159 +15
93 T81 Maria Alejandra Villalobos Wichita State 86 74 160 +16
T74 T81 Gavrilla Arya Wichita State 80 80 160 +16
T91 T81 Megan Wilshire North Florida 85 75 160 +16
96 T84 Sophie Newlove Denver 88 73 161 +17
T74 T84 Ariadna Castro Fairleigh Dickinson 80 81 161 +17
T74 T86 Naomi Ko North Carolina State 80 82 162 +18
T84 T86 Eva Saulnier New Mexico 82 80 162 +18
T74 T86 Alexandra Moisand New Mexico 80 82 162 +18
T61 T89 Meghan Schuetz Jack Wichita State 78 85 163 +19
T84 T89 Nathalie Nygren North Florida 82 81 163 +19
90 91 Katharina Baratta-Dragaro Denver 83 81 164 +20
T94 T92 Cecilia Diez-Moliner Augusta 87 78 165 +21
T94 T92 Teresa Caballer Hernani Augusta 87 78 165 +21
T84 94 Marina Hedlund LSU 82 84 166 +22
T80 95 Kelly Aylwin North Florida 81 86 167 +23
T84 96 Celeste McLean Fairleigh Dickinson 82 86 168 +24