SOUTH BEND, Ind. – For the ninth time in school history and the second time over the last three years, the Duke women's golf team claimed a NCAA regional championship Saturday as the Blue Devils swept both the team and individual titles at the South Bend Regional played at the 6,301-yard, par 72 Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind.
The Blue Devils now advance to the NCAA Championship for the 27th time in school history and the 20th time out of the last 21 years. The 2015 NCAA Championship will take place from May 22-27 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
“It feels great to win this late in the season,” said Duke head coach
Dan Brooks. “Now we can turn our focus to nationals."
Duke freshman
Leona Maguire claimed the NCAA South Regional individual title with a 54-hole ledger of four-under-par, 212, becoming just the fifth Blue Devil to win a regional title. She joined Anna Grzebien (2005), Leigh Anne Hardin (2002), Virada Nirapathpongporn (2001) and Beth Bauer (1999 – tied first). Maguire, who is a native of Cavan, Ireland, is just the third Duke freshman golfer to win the title as well – Nirapathpongporn and Bauer.
“It is great,” commented Maguire on the victory. “To get another win is a bonus and obviously to get the team win was big today. We have been really working towards regionals and nationals all year so it is really nice the whole team came together at this time and got the win.”
As a team, Duke carded rounds of 288, 289 and 296 for a three-day ledger of nine-over-par, 873. The Blue Devils won by three strokes over Wake Forest (876), while UC Davis (884), Arizona (886), Tulane (888) and Purdue (888) were the other teams advancing to the NCAA Championship. Rounding out the top 10 were Kentucky (892), Notre Dame (894), Kent State (896) and Harvard (899). The teams dealt with much different conditions Saturday as it was wet from overnight rainfall and it rained off-and-on during the entire final round.
Duke held the team lead over Purdue for most of the final round, but the Blue Devils dropped six shots on holes seven and eight to move back into the pack along with the Boilermakers and Wake Forest. Heading into the final three holes, the Demon Deacons evened the score, but Duke played those holes at one-under and Wake Forest was one-over-par.
The victory was the third of the season for the Blue Devils and marks the 122nd career win for Brooks over his 31 years as a head coach.
Maguire won her second straight tournament and became the third Blue Devil to win both the ACC Championship and NCAA regional in back-to-back tournaments – Bauer in 1999 and Nirapathpongporn in 2001. Maguire trailed Duke junior
Celine Boutier by one stroke heading into the final round and ended up with a one-stroke victory as Boutier carded a final round 74 and finished with a three-under-par, 213.
“Yeah, it was pretty much Irish weather today,” said Maguire. “It wasn't too bad. It was sort of on-and-off rain all day. The course played a lot longer today – the grass was wet and the ball wasn't flying quite as far. So you had to adapt to a little of that. I just tried to hit a lot of fairways and greens to give myself chances.”
For the third day in a row, Maguire carded a birdie on the 462-yard, par five second hole to move to one-under-par early to kick off the final round. She went on to make seven straight pars and made the turn with a one-under, 35. After bogeys on No. 10 and No. 13, Maguire dropped to one-over-par for the day. She came back with a birdie on the 180-yard, par three 14th hole to get back to even where she stayed to close the day. Maguire hit 12 fairways, 13 greens and had 31 putts in the final round. She totaled rounds of 72, 68 and 72 over the three days.
“I am really looking forward to nationals,” said Maguire. “Everybody has been talking about it all year and I have heard the stories about last year. So it will be really nice to get down to Florida and see what it is all about and hopefully bring home another title.”
Over the three days, Boutier carded rounds of 67, 72 and 74 to finish a three-under-par, 213. The second place finish is the highest placement of the season for the 2014 National Player of the Year. In the final round, Boutier had chances for birdies, but couldn't get the putts to drop until No. 18 when she hit her pitching wedge from 107 yards to four feet for birdie. A native of Montrouge, France, Boutier had bogeys on No. 3, No. 7 and No. 12. She hit 13 greens, 12 fairways and had 33 putts on the day.
“We are all super happy about the team winning,” said Boutier. “It is a great feeling to have right before nationals. We feel like we are ready and very excited about the championship. I am a little disappointed with my game because I felt like I could have scored lower obviously. I had a good attitude throughout the round and fought until the end so I am really happy about that.”
Sophomore
Sandy Choi collected her second straight top 20 finish at a NCAA regional as she placed tied 14th with rounds of 73, 73 and 74 for a four-over, 220. Choi, who is from Seoul, South Korea, held a one-under-par score though five holes as she notched birdies on both early par fives – No. 2 and No. 5 – to go along with a bogey on No. 4. She was hitting her approach shots tight early on as she featured a four-foot birdie putt on No. 2 and two-footer on No. 5. Choi had bogeys on No. 7, No. 8, No. 12 and No. 15 to fall back to three-over-par, but she sank a key six-foot birdie on the 480-yard, par five 17th to finish with a 74. For the day, Choi hit 13 greens, 11 fairways and had 33 putts.
Both rookies
Gurbani Singh and
Lisa Maguire closed Saturday's play with rounds of four-over, 76. Singh, who is from New Delhi, India, went on to finish tied 56th with a three-day score of 230. Singh was the only Blue Devil to notch a birdie on the opening 372-yard, par four first hole as she drained a 20-footer. She was then held without a birdie the rest of the way as she had five bogeys and 12 pars to close with a 76. Singh hit 11 fairways, 10 greens and had 33 putts for the round.
Duke's best golfer on the course over the final 11 holes Saturday,
Lisa Maguire was one-under-par over those holes as she went on to place tied 76th with a 234. Maguire, who hails from Cavan, Ireland, collected a birdie on No.14 as she drained a 10-footer. She totaled four up-and-downs over her final 11 holes of action. Maguire hit 10 fairways, eight greens and had 29 putts.
The Blue Devils will have 10 days off before heading to Bradenton, Fla., for nationals. Duke is the reigning NCAA Champions and has won a total of six NCAA titles since 1999 (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2014).
“What we have been doing has worked pretty well, which is a lot of individual stuff,” commented Brooks on the plan prior to nationals. “I will probably put some match play in there because we are about to play a match play tournament."
Notes:
•
Leona Maguire placed tied first for the tournament with a 2.83 scoring average on par three holes. Her 11 birdies ranks tied second overall as well.
•
Leona Maguire's three wins on the season now ranks tied first on the Duke freshman record books along with Amanda Blumenherst, Brittany Lang and Virada Nirapathpongporn.
•
Leona Maguire owns 22 rounds of even or under par on the season to rank only two behind Amanda Blumenherst for a Duke school record.
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Duke Results
2 1
Leona Maguire Duke 72 68 72 212 -4
1 2
Celine Boutier Duke 67 72 74 213 -3
T15 T14
Sandy Choi Duke 73 73 74 220 +4
T58 T56
Gurbani Singh Duke 76 78 76 230 +14
T81 T76
Lisa Maguire Duke 82 76 76 234 +18
1 2 3 Team Scores
1 1 1 Duke 288 289 296 873 +9
2 3 2 Wake Forest 293 292 291 876 +12
4 5 3 UC Davis 295 294 295 884 +20
3 4 4 Arizona 294 292 300 886 +22
T7 6 T5 Tulane 298 295 295 888 +24
T9 2 T5 Purdue 299 283 306 888 +24
11 12 7 Kentucky 301 301 290 892 +28
12 9 8 Notre Dame 302 293 299 894 +30
T5 10 9 Kent State 296 302 298 896 +32
T7 T7 10 Harvard 298 296 305 899 +35
T5 T7 11 Oklahoma State 296 298 306 900 +36
13 11 12 Louisville 305 296 301 902 +38
T9 13 13 Pepperdine 299 308 297 904 +40
15 14 14 North Carolina 308 302 305 915 +51
14 15 15 Eastern Kentucky 307 304 305 916 +52
T16 16 16 San Jose State 310 303 305 918 +54
T16 17 17 Troy 310 311 302 923 +59
18 18 18 Youngstown State 311 322 315 948 +84
Start Finish Player Team Scores
2 1
Leona Maguire Duke 72 68 72 212 -4
1 2
Celine Boutier Duke 67 72 74 213 -3
3 3 Lindsey Weaver Arizona 71 70 74 215 -1
T10 4 Allison Emrey Wake Forest 71 74 71 216 E
4 T5 Michaela Fletcher * Memphis 73 69 75 217 +1
T10 T5 Blair Lewis UC Davis 71 74 72 217 +1
T5 T5 Marissa Dodd Wake Forest 70 73 74 217 +1
T23 T8 Leilanie Kim * Idaho 75 73 70 218 +2
T5 T8 August Kim Purdue 74 69 75 218 +2
T29 T10 Haley Mills Kentucky 74 75 70 219 +3
T20 T10 Taylor Kim Kent State 72 75 72 219 +3
T8 T10 Isabelle Johansson Kentucky 70 74 75 219 +3
T5 T10 Sierra Sims Wake Forest 74 69 76 219 +3
T10 T14 Brenna Nelsen Harvard 71 74 75 220 +4
T15 T14 Katie Mitchell Louisville 73 73 74 220 +4
T23 T14 Manon Gidali Arizona 73 75 72 220 +4
T8 T14 Paige Lee UC Davis 71 73 76 220 +4
T15 T14
Sandy Choi Duke 73 73 74 220 +4
T33 T19 Talia Campbell Notre Dame 77 73 71 221 +5
T10 T19 Jordan Ferreira Notre Dame 73 72 76 221 +5
T23 T21 Anne Cheng Harvard 75 73 74 222 +6
T10 T21 Emma Broze Oklahoma State 71 74 77 222 +6
T23 T21 Andrea Wong UC Davis 74 74 74 222 +6
T20 T21 Silvia Garces Tulane 73 74 75 222 +6
T15 T21 Anna Appert Lund Purdue 76 70 76 222 +6
T37 T26 Wad Phaewchimplee Kent State 76 75 72 223 +7
T29 T26 Maddie McCrary Oklahoma State 73 76 74 223 +7
T37 T26 Madchen Ly * Fresno State 77 74 72 223 +7
T37 T26 Gemma Dryburgh Tulane 75 76 72 223 +7
T15 T26 Emily Penttila Tulane 73 73 77 223 +7
T51 T31 Elizabeth Tong * Indiana 79 74 71 224 +8
T33 T31 Madison Opfer Tulane 78 72 74 224 +8
T15 T31 Aurora Kan Purdue 76 70 78 224 +8
T23 T34 Kelli Oride Notre Dame 75 73 77 225 +9
T23 T34 Krystal Quihuis Arizona 75 73 77 225 +9
T29 T36 Courtney Hooton Harvard 77 72 77 226 +10
T37 T36 Emily Haas Louisville 77 74 75 226 +10
T66 T36 Marissa Chow Pepperdine 72 83 71 226 +10
T33 T36 Lexi Harkins North Carolina 76 74 76 226 +10
T20 T36 Marta Martin Purdue 73 74 79 226 +10
T44 T41 Ashley Armstrong Notre Dame 77 75 75 227 +11
T37 T41 Natalie Goodson Kent State 76 75 76 227 +11
T51 T41 Laura Restrepo Louisville 77 76 74 227 +11
T51 T41 Grace Rose Kentucky 77 76 74 227 +11
T29 T41 Linnea Johansson Oklahoma State 74 75 78 227 +11
T58 T41 Bev Vatananugulkit UC Davis 79 75 73 227 +11
T44 T41 Bryana Nguyen North Carolina 76 76 75 227 +11
T37 T41 Katherine Zhu Pepperdine 76 75 76 227 +11
T58 T41 Erica Herr Wake Forest 78 76 73 227 +11
T37 T50 Kenzie Neisen Oklahoma State 78 73 77 228 +12
T51 T50 Maia Schechter North Carolina 77 76 75 228 +12
T70 T50 Taylor McGraw Troy 79 77 72 228 +12
T44 T53 Kendall Prince Arizona 75 77 77 229 +13
T58 T53 Sofie Levin Eastern Kentucky 80 74 75 229 +13
T70 T53 Elizabeth Schultz San Jose State 80 76 73 229 +13
T86 T56 Cylia Damerau Kentucky 80 79 71 230 +14
T33 T56 Josee Doyon Kent State 72 78 80 230 +14
T77 T56 Gabby Yurik * Michigan State 79 78 73 230 +14
T58 T56 Martina Edberg * CSU Fullerton 79 75 76 230 +14
T70 T56 Belen Goicoechea Tulane 77 79 74 230 +14
T58 T56
Gurbani Singh Duke 76 78 76 230 +14
T58 T56 My Leander San Jose State 79 75 76 230 +14
T44 T56 Regan De Guzman San Jose State 77 75 78 230 +14
T51 T56 Langley Vannoy Troy 81 72 77 230 +14
T51 T65 Jennifer Ha Kent State 76 77 78 231 +15
T86 T65 Somin Lee Pepperdine 83 76 72 231 +15
T77 T65 Becky Sharpe Eastern Kentucky 78 79 74 231 +15
T58 T65 Anna Gleixner Eastern Kentucky 78 76 77 231 +15
T44 T65 Rachel Welker Eastern Kentucky 71 81 79 231 +15
T51 T65 Megan Osland San Jose State 76 77 78 231 +15
T58 71 Katie Petrino Louisville 81 73 78 232 +16
T66 T72 Kari Bellville Notre Dame 78 77 78 233 +17
T66 T72 Wanasa Zhou Arizona 81 74 78 233 +17
T44 T72 Alina Ching Pepperdine 74 78 81 233 +17
T70 T72 Fatima Cano Troy 80 76 77 233 +17
T70 T76 Louise Oxner Louisville 78 78 78 234 +18
T77 T76 Betty Chen UC Davis 84 73 77 234 +18
T66 T76 Leslie Cloots North Carolina 79 76 79 234 +18
T70 T76 Tatiana Wijaya Pepperdine 77 79 78 234 +18
T81 T76
Lisa Maguire Duke 82 76 76 234 +18
93 T76 Mariana Sims Wake Forest 79 82 73 234 +18
T81 T76 Becca Horner Troy 70 88 76 234 +18
T81 83 Aislynn Merling Youngstown State 79 79 77 235 +19
T81 T84 Isabella Deilert Oklahoma State 78 80 78 236 +20
T70 T84 Sarah Harris Kentucky 80 76 80 236 +20
T81 T86 Tiffany Lim Harvard 79 79 79 237 +21
T91 T86 Johanna Tillstrom Purdue 82 78 77 237 +21
T91 T86 Emily Dixon Youngstown State 80 80 77 237 +21
T86 89 Emilie Simmons Eastern Kentucky 84 75 80 239 +23
T86 T90 Cheni Xu North Carolina 83 76 81 240 +24
T86 T90 Kathleen Rojas San Jose State 78 81 81 240 +24
T44 T92 Christine Lin Harvard 75 77 89 241 +25
T77 T92 Courtney Shutt Youngstown State 75 82 84 241 +25
94 94 Allison Mitzel Youngstown State 77 86 79 242 +26
95 95 Sydney Conrad Troy 81 86 83 250 +34
96 96 Emily Rohanna Youngstown State 88 81 82 251 +35