OWINGS MILLS, Md. – After a solid start on Tuesday morning at the 2009 NCAA Championship, the Duke Women’s Golf team lost ground towards the end of their round and sits in 14th place with a 308 through 18 holes at the 6,443-yard, Par 72 Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
Duke carded a 20-over-par, 308, on Tuesday and is only 14 shots off the lead. The University of Denver took the lead after round one with a six-over-par, 294, while UCLA (296), North Carolina (299), Southern California (301), Arizona State (302) and LSU (302) rounded out the top five teams. Oklahoma State (303), Wake Forest (303), Virginia (305) and Alabama (305) rounded out the top 10. Purdue (306), Michigan State (307), Tennessee (307), Duke (308) and Arizona closed out the top 15.
As a team, the Blue Devils took their first lead of the day by 9:30 a.m., as sophomore Kim Donovan was two-under-par through two holes. Duke was only one-over-par through seven holes but the Blue Devils fell back as they suffered 12 bogeys from holes eight through 13 (not counting Yu Young Lee). The Blue Devils carded a total of six birdies on the day.
“We had a good round going early,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “The front side was great -- saw some good putting, off the tee we were great -- there was really good stuff going on but we had some leaks coming in. What I hope the team does, is take from this the good stuff, draw from that and realize there are four days here.”
Blue Devil senior Amanda Blumenherst led the Blue Devils with a three-over-par, 73, on Monday and is tied for 25th, individually. A product of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst kicked off her round hitting her first five greens but could not get any of her birdie putts to drop. She parred the first five holes and then her driver got her in trouble for some of the next holes as she suffered bogeys on No. 6, 8, 9, 11 and 13. Blumenherst made the turn with a three-over-par, 39, but got it rolling again over the final four holes as she hit all four of those greens. She rolled in two straight five-foot birdie putts on No. 16 and No. 17 and closed with a par on the 18th.
“For me I was either staking the shots or missing by quite a bit,” said Blumenherst. “These greens are very hard to get up and down on because they are so fast -- right when you get a chip shot on the green it takes off. Also, the putts were just not falling, which was kind of frustrating. But coming in I started hitting them a little bit closer and the putts started falling. It seems like I was getting my rhythm down the last few [holes] -- so good things for tomorrow. Hopefully everything will fall into place.”
On the day, Blumenherst hit six greens within 16 feet, while hitting 12 greens, 11 fairways and notching 31 putts.
“That is a great example of what can happen if you keep your chin up, keep fighting and you can get those birdies -- everyone on our team is capable of birdies,” commented Brooks on Blumenherst’s play. “You have to keep your chin up. Strange things happen in this game with scoring in a four-day event. You have to keep believing that things can turn your way.”
Junior Alison Whitaker was even par through eight holes as she notched six pars, a birdie on No. 7 and a bogey on No. 4. Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, hit a wedge to 12 feet and holed her birdie putt on 496-yard, par five seventh. She suffered a bogey on No. 9 to make the turn with a one-over-par, 37. On the back nine, Whitaker notched seven pars to go along with a bogey on No. 12 and a double-bogey on the 388-yard, par four 16th, which has bunkers everywhere. Whitaker hit a team-best 13 greens on the day, while hitting eight fairways and had 34 putts.
“I hit the ball really well,” said Whitaker. “I could get down about my score but there were to many positive shots out there today.”
Coming off the best regional finish of her career, senior Jennie Lee struggled with her irons on Tuesday as she carded a six-over-par, 78, and is tied for 60th. Lee, a native of Henderson, Nev., suffered bogeys on No. 1 and No. 3 as she hit her approach shots short right and could not get up and down. She went on to par the next three holes before registering her lone birdie of the day. Lee rolled in a six-foot birdie on No. 7, but had bogeys on the next three holes.
Lee posted four consecutive pars before bogeying No. 15 and No. 16, while closing with pars on the final two holes. On the day, she hit only seven greens, had 31 putts and hit 12 fairways.
Donovan registered one of the best starts of her career as she notched two birdies over her first two holes to move to two-under-par. On the first hole, she hit her drive to the left off the cart path and even took a provisional in case the ball was out of play. Donovan, who is from Hopkinton, Mass., was able to hit her seven-iron in-between two trees to within a foot and a half. She then hit her 8-iron on No. 2 to 15 feet and made the putt for birdie.
After that hot start, Donovan suffered a bogey on No. 3 and then made four straight pars. She then had three consecutive bogeys on holes nine, 10 and 11 followed by five pars. Donovan, who is out of Hopkinton, Mass., was then told to speed up her play and went on to total two double-bogeys on No. 16 and No. 17. She was accessed a one-stroke penalty following the round on No. 16 as Donvoan was told she took too long on two shots. Donovan finished with a 79 and is tied for 79th.
Junior Yu Young Lee was only two-over-par through eight holes but had trouble finishing as she collected an 83. For the day, Lee hit 12 fairways, five greens and 32 putts. On the 158-yard, par three fourth hole, Lee chipped in for bogey from about 25 feet.
Leading the individual competition is North Carolina’s Catherine O’Donnell and Denver’s Stephanie Sherlock, who each carded rounds of two-under-par, 70. Four other golfers -- Ginny Brown (Tennessee), Stephanie Connelly (UCF), Nannette Hill (Wake Forest) and Jennifer Song (Southern California) -- are all tied for third with a 72.
Duke will tee off on Wednesday in the second round along with Texas and New Mexico beginning at 1:20 p.m., off hole No. 10.
“it is an excellent golf course,” said Brooks. “The rough is challenging but its not unreasonable. This is just very challenging rough. You need to trust the club in this stuff -- you can’t try to hit at the ball because you are not going to get anything out of it. There is a technique and that takes some strength to. The key to playing this tournament I think is to make sure you are getting it on the green and you are going to need to be a lag putter. You are going to need to lag put it well because you are just going to be able to get it on the green somewhere. The team that is going to win are the ones who are getting it on the dance floor and putting well on their first putt.”
Duke Results:
T25 - Amanda Blumenherst Duke +3 F +3 75 75
T38 - Alison Whitaker Duke +4 F +4 76 76
T60 - Jennie Lee Duke +6 F +6 78 78
T79 - Kimberly Donovan Duke +7 F +7 79 79
T112 - Yu Young Lee Duke +11 F +11 83 83
Duke Notes:
• For the day, Kim Donovan hit nine fairways, 12 greens and had 34 putts.
• Last year in the NCAA Championship first round, Duke carded a 299 and was 18th overall and 15 shots off the lead. The Blue Devils came back to finish third as a team.
• The NCAA Championship is a four-day event that totals 72 holes with 18 holes played each day.
• Duke has won NCAA Championships in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
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1 Team Scores
1 Denver, Univ. of 294 +6
2 UCLA 296 +8
3 North Carolina 299 +11
4 Southern California 301 +13
T5 LSU 302 +14
T5 Arizona State 302 +14
T7 Oklahoma State 303 +15
T7 Wake Forest 303 +15
T9 Virginia 305 +17
T9 Alabama, U. of 305 +17
11 Purdue 306 +18
T12 Michigan State 307 +19
T12 Tennessee 307 +19
14 Duke 308 +20
15 Arizona 310 +22
16 New Mexico 311 +23
T17 Pepperdine 312 +24
T17 Tulane University 312 +24
T19 Texas 314 +26
T19 TCU 314 +26
T21 UT Chattanooga 316 +28
T21 Georgia 316 +28
23 UC Irvine 320 +32
24 Ohio State 323 +35
Start Finish Player Team Scores
- T1 Catherine O'Donnell North Carolina 70 -2
- T1 Stephanie Sherlock Denver, Univ. of 70 -2
- T3 Stephanie Connelly * UCF 72 E
- T3 Ginny Brown Tennessee 72 E
- T3 Nannette Hill Wake Forest 72 E
- T3 Jennifer Song Southern California 72 E
- T7 Lindsey Solberg Michigan State 73 +1
- T7 Britney Choy New Mexico 73 +1
- T7 Ellie Givens Denver, Univ. of 73 +1
- T7 Allie Bodemann Wake Forest 73 +1
- T7 Stephanie Kono UCLA 73 +1
- T12 Alice Kim * UC Davis 74 +2
- T12 Laura Kueny Michigan State 74 +2
- T12 Shannon Fish Texas 74 +2
- T12 Lisa McCloskey Pepperdine 74 +2
- T12 Tiffany Joh UCLA 74 +2
- T12 Glory Yang UCLA 74 +2
- T12 Jaqueline Hedwall LSU 74 +2
- T12 Katie Kempter Denver, Univ. of 74 +2
- T12 Megan McChrystal LSU 74 +2
- T12 Carlota Ciganda Arizona State 74 +2
- T12 Lizette Salas Southern California 74 +2
- T12 Pernilla Lindberg Oklahoma State 74 +2
- T12 Maria Hernandez Purdue 74 +2
- T25 Emma Jandel Ohio State 75 +3
- T25 Sydney Crane North Carolina 75 +3
- T25 Jane Chin UC Irvine 75 +3
- T25 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 75 +3
- T25 Maria Salinas UT Chattanooga 75 +3
- T25 Marta Silva Georgia 75 +3
- T25 Jennifer Osborn Arizona State 75 +3
- T25 Sydnee Michaels UCLA 75 +3
- T25 Maria Jose Uribe UCLA 75 +3
- T25 Brooke Pancake Alabama, U. of 75 +3
- T25 Calle Nielson Virginia 75 +3
- T25 Kathleen Ekey Alabama, U. of 75 +3
- T25 Whitney Neuhauser Virginia 75 +3
- T38 Cindy LaCrosse * Louisville, Univ. of 76 +4
- T38 Kate Thomas North Carolina 76 +4
- T38 Amanda Wilson Arizona 76 +4
- T38 Janine Fellows Tulane University 76 +4
- T38 Alison Whitaker Duke 76 +4
- T38 Jaclyn Sweeney Arizona State 76 +4
- T38 Amalie Valle LSU 76 +4
- T38 Nicole Smith Tennessee 76 +4
- T38 Amanda Johnson Oklahoma State 76 +4
- T38 Thea Hoffmeister Purdue 76 +4
- T38 Maude-Aimee LeBlanc Purdue 76 +4
- T38 Caroline Hedwall Oklahoma State 76 +4
- T50 Isabelle Boineau Arizona 77 +5
- T50 Daniela Holmqvist Tulane University 77 +5
- T50 Mallory Hetzel Georgia 77 +5
- T50 Juliana Murcia Arizona State 77 +5
- T50 Dawn Shockley Denver, Univ. of 77 +5
- T50 Caroline Kim Southern California 77 +5
- T50 Kristen Simpson Virginia 77 +5
- T50 Courtney Harter Alabama, U. of 77 +5
- T50 Rachel Raastad TCU 77 +5
- T50 Caroline Masson Oklahoma State 77 +5
- T60 Cathryn Bristow * Oregon, U. of 78 +6
- T60 Ashley McKenney Tulane University 78 +6
- T60 Margarita Ramos Arizona 78 +6
- T60 Vicky Villanueva Ohio State 78 +6
- T60 Allie White North Carolina 78 +6
- T60 Patty Chawalitmetha UC Irvine 78 +6
- T60 Jodi Ewart New Mexico 78 +6
- T60 Jennie Lee Duke 78 +6
- T60 Tessa Teachman LSU 78 +6
- T60 Sarah Faller Denver, Univ. of 78 +6
- T60 Caroline Martens LSU 78 +6
- T60 Diana Cantu Tennessee 78 +6
- T60 Azahara Munoz Arizona State 78 +6
- T60 Cheyenne Woods Wake Forest 78 +6
- T60 Karin Kinnerud Oklahoma State 78 +6
- T60 Lene Krog Virginia 78 +6
- T60 Belen Mozo Southern California 78 +6
- T60 Camilla Lennarth Alabama, U. of 78 +6
- T60 Valentine Derrey TCU 78 +6
- T79 Marina Alex * Vanderbilt 79 +7
- T79 Nikki Koller Arizona 79 +7
- T79 Jessica Wallace Pepperdine 79 +7
- T79 Caney Hines Texas 79 +7
- T79 Kimberly Donovan Duke 79 +7
- T79 Moa Duf UT Chattanooga 79 +7
- T79 Rebecca Hellbom New Mexico 79 +7
- T79 Taylore Karle Pepperdine 79 +7
- T79 Emma de Groot UT Chattanooga 79 +7
- T79 Joy Kim Virginia 79 +7
- T79 In-Ah Park Southern California 79 +7
- T79 Brooke Beeler TCU 79 +7
