No. 1 Duke leads No. 2 Alabama by a shot after opening round of The Landfall Tradition

   Duke and Alabama picked up in the opening round of The Landfall Tradition right where they left off in the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational a couple of weeks ago.

   Duke, No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings, went 31-under to win the Ruth’s Chris by a shot over Alabama, ranked No. 2. In the opening round of The Landfall, which annually brings one of the best fields in college women’s golf to the Country Club of Landfall’s Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C., the Blue Devils fired an 11-under 277 to lead, you guessed it, Alabama by a shot Friday.

   No. 16 Michigan State carded a 6-under 282 over the 6,166-yard, par-72 Dye Course layout to land in third place followed by No. 9 South Carolina in fourth at 3-under 285. No. 17 Purdue is fifth at 2-over 290 and No. 9 Furman sits in sixth place at 4-over 292.

   No. 38 Penn State, coming off a victory in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational Sunday, is in 13^th place after a solid 10-over 298. It was a little bit of a disappointing day for Notre Dame, which is all the way up to a deserved No.-18 ranking on the strength of what has been a very strong fall campaign.    The Fighting Irish are 16^th in a deep and talented 18-team field with a 301 total.

   When you’re Duke, you get to toss out the 1-over 73 carded by Virginia Elena Carta, a junior from Italy who won the 2016 NCAA individual title as a freshman and was the runnerup in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Rolling Green Golf Club.

   The Blue Devils were led by Ana Belac, a sophomore from Slovenia who seized the lead in the individual standings with a 6-under 66 that tied the single-round tournament record. Jaravee Boonchant, a  freshman from Thailand, is in a group tied for fifth at 3-under 69. Miranda Wang, a redshirt freshman from China, is tied for eighth after a 2-under 70.

   And when you’re Duke, your fourth-best score comes from the No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. That would be Leona Maguire, a senior from Ireland whose even-par 72 has her in a group tied for 20^th and will probably be her worst round of the tournament. Of course, if the weather turns bad, Maguire will be the chief beneficiary as the worse the weather, the better she plays.

   Not that Alabama is throwing a bunch of slackers out there. The Crimson Tide were led by Lauren Stephenson, a junior from Lexington, S.C. who is No. 7 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. Stephenson fired a 5-under 67 and trails Belac by only a shot in the individual chase.

   Kristen Gillman, a sophomore from Austin, Texas and No. 11 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, is tied for fifth after posting a 3-under 69. Gilman won the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Nassau Country Club on Long Island as a 16-year-old. She beat Brooke Henderson in the final and Henderson’s out winning major championships on the LPGA Tour.

   So yeah, this is going to be some kind of shootout between these two teams … again.

   Michigan State’s Sarah Burnham, a senior from Maple Grove, Minn. and a real star in her own right, and Virginia’s Beth Lillie, a freshman from Fullerton, Calif., are tied for third at 4-under 68.

Joining Duke’s Boonchant and Alabama’s Gillman in the group tied for fifth at 3-under 69 is    Purdue’s Covadonga SanJuan, a junior from Spain. I’ve been keeping tabs on the Purdue program since the days  when Delco’s own, Aurora Kan, was a star for the Boilers and SanJuan is one of the players who was an up-and-comer during Kan’s senior season. Devon Brouse might have his best team since Kan’s sophomore season when future LPGA players Paula Reto and Laura Gonzalez-Escallon were striding the fairways for Purdue.

   Penn State was led by junior Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury. Rogowicz, coming off a runnerup finish in the individual chase at the Lady Blue Hen, matched par with a 72 and is in the group tied for 20^th.

   Junior Cara Basso, the 2012 PIAA Class AA champion as a sophomore at Villa Maria Academy, is tied for 35^th after posting a 2-over 74. Sophomore Madelein Herr, a former Council Rock North standout, and junior Lauren Waller, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup in 2014 as a senior at Canon-McMillan, are in the group tied for 58^th after each carded a 76.

   Rounding out the five for Penn State was sophomore Megan McLean, who starred scholastically at Voorhees High in South Jersey and earned a trip to The Landfall with a solid showing competing as an individual in the Lady Blue Hen. McLean is 94^th after posting an 82.

   Notre Dame junior Isabella DiLisio, the 2013 PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Mount St. Joseph, got to renew acquaintances with all her old high school rivals playing at Penn State. DiLisio and Mia Ayer, a sophomore form Waco, Texas, led the Fighting Irish as each carded a 2-over 74 and are in the group tied for 35^th.

   Maddie Rose Hamilton, a junior from Louisville, Ky, is in that large group tied for 58^th after she signed for a 76. Emma Albrecht, a junior from Ormond Beach, Fla. who played as  an individual in the NCAA Columbus Regional as a sophomore, is tied for 74^th after a 77 that I’m sure she wasn’t real thrilled with.

   Abby Heck, a freshman from Memphis, Tenn., is tied for 85^th after posting a 79. Senior captain Alison Snakard, a teammate of DiLisio’s on Mount St. Joe’s 2013 PIAA Class AAA championship team, competed as an individual and was a shot behind Heck in a tie for 89^th with an 80.