Cernousek, Texas A&M still ahead of the pack after three rounds of NCAA Championship at La Costa

 

     Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek, a junior from France and No. 30 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), will take a commanding six-shot lead in the race to crown the NCAA individual champion while leading the Aggies, out of the Southeastern Conference, to the top of the team leaderboard through three rounds of the NCAA Championship at the Omni Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Cernousek carded a third straight 4-under-par 68 over the 6,297-yard, par-72 North Course layout in Sunday’s third round for a 12-under 204 total.

   Cernousek’s closest pursuer for the individual title was Florida State’s Lottie Woad, a sophomore from England and No. 4 in the Women’s WAGR who was in second place with a 6-under 210 total.

   Woad, an impressive winner of last month’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, had opened with the low round of the tournament, a 7-under 65 Friday. She backed off a little with a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round before recording a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round.

   As compelling as the race for the NCAA’s individual crown is, it is the team chase that will garner the most attention when The Golf Channel’s cameras start rolling with its coverage of the final round of qualifying for match play Monday afternoon.

   Texas A&M, behind Cernousek, carded a 1-over 289 to maintain its hold on first place in the team standings at 10-under 854.

   Stanford, playing as a member of the Pac-12 for the final time, rattled off its third straight 3-under 855 and was in second place, just a shot behind Texas A&M with a 9-under 855 total. Stanford has won the NCAA crown twice since the match-play layer was added, most recently two years ago at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   The top eight teams at the end of Monday’s final round of qualifying will shift gears and begin match play Tuesday morning. Only 15 shots separate LSU, another SEC power, in third place and Southern California, another member of the expiring Pac-12, in 10^th place.

   It will be a mad scramble to fill those eight match-play spots because once match play starts, anything can happen and usually does. But you have to get there.

   The Bayou Tigers matched par in Sunday’s third round with a 288 and was in third place, eight shots behind Stanford at 1-under 863.

   Clemson, the Tigers of the Atlantic Coast Conference, posted its second straight 5-over 293 and was three shots behind LSU in fourth place at 2-over 866.

   Northwestern, out of the Big Ten, was seven shots behind Clemson in fifth place at 9-over 873 after the Wildcats struggled a little on their way to a 7-over 295 in Sunday’s third round.

   UCLA, another Pac-12 entry, was a shot behind Northwestern in sixth place at 10-over 874 after the Bruins struggled to a 300 Sunday.

   Oregon, out of the Pac-12, and Auburn, the SEC’s Plains Tigers, held down the final spots in the top eight at the end of play Sunday as they were tied for seventh place, each sitting two shots behind UCLA at 12-over 876.

   Oregon and Auburn both struggled a little in Sunday’s third round, the Ducks registering an 11-over 299 and the Plains Tigers posting a 13-over 301.

   Sitting just outside the top eight with designs on crashing the match-play party was the SEC’s Arkansas as the Razorbacks were just a shot behind Oregon and Auburn in ninth place after a 299 left them at 13-over 877.

   Southern California, which made it to the Final Match in the NCAA Championship a year ago at Grayhawk before falling to Wake Forest, was another shot behind Arkansas in 10^th place with a 14-over 878.

   The field of 30 teams was cut in half following Sunday’s third round.

   Wake Forest, the reigning national champion and winner of the ACC title last month, survived that cut, but in 12^th place at 20-over 884 following a 9-over 297 in Sunday’s third round, the Demon Deacons have some work to do to earn themselves a spot in the match-play bracket.

   Backing up Cernousek for Texas A&M was the Aggies’ freshman phenom, Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Boggio, a freshman from Spain and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR. Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Boggio carded a solid 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round to join a group of six players tied for fourth place at 4-under 212.

   Zoe Slaughter, a senior from Houston, Texas, was in the group tied for 21^st place after signing for a 3-over 75 that left her at 2-over 218.

   Bianca Fernandez Garcia-Boggio, a graduate student and the older of the sisters from Spain, also carded a 3-over 75 and was in the group tied for 34^th place at 4-over 220.

   Rounding out the Texas A&M lineup was Jennie Park, a graduate student from Carrollton, Texas, as she also came in at 3-over 75 that left her among the group tied for 86^th place at 227.

   Cernousek, Bianca Fernandez Garcia-Boggio, Slaughter and Park were all in the lineup when the Aggies fell to Wake Forest in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship a year ago at Grayhawk.

   Arkansas Maria Jose Marin, a freshman from Colombia and No. 20 in the WAGR, was alone in third place in the individual standings as she recorded a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round that left her a shot bend Woad at 5-under 211.

   Joining Texas A&M’s Cayetana Fernandez Garicia-Boggio in the logjam tied for fourth place at 4-under were the LSU pair of Carla Tejedo, a senior from Spain, and Aine Donegan, a junior from Ireland and No. 98 in the Women’s WAGR, Stanford’s Paula Martin Sampedro, a freshman from Spain and No. 22 in the Women’s WAGR, Oregon’s Kiara Romero, a freshman from San Jose, Calif. and No. 26 in the Women’s WAGR, and Northwestern’s Ashley Yun, a freshman from West Covina, Calif.

   Tejedo carded a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s third round after carding back-to-back 1-under 71s in the first two rounds. Donegan, who made the cut and played four rounds in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Open at the Pebble Beach Golf Links, registered a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round after moving into contention with a 5-under 67 in Saturday’s second round.

   Martin Sampedro paced the Cardinal as she recorded a 2-under 70. Romero, winner of last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship at the Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo., carded a solid 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round after firing a 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round.

   Yun made it four freshmen in the gang of six tied for fourth place as she posted a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round.

   Leading the way for ACC power Duke was senior Phoebe Brinker, who starred scholastically at Archmere Academy, as she was in a tie for 15^th place at even-par 216 after carding a 2-over 74 in Sunday’s third round. Brinker had opened with a solid 3-under 69 before adding a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round.

   Duke was in 11^th place in the team standings at 19-over 883, five shots behind Southern California.

   Brinker’s teammate, Katie Li, a freshman from Basking Ridge, N.J., struggled in Sunday’s third round with a 79 that left her in a group tied for 86^th place with a 227 total.

   Purdue junior Natasha Kiel, a New Hope resident and product of George School, recorded a 77 that left her in the group tied for 106^th place with a 230 total.

   Another Bucks County native at Purdue, junior Jade Gu, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Pennsbury, came off the bench in the third round for the Boilermakers and tallied an 81.

   Purdue, out of  the Big Ten, never got it going at La Costa and failed to survive Sunday’s cut to the top 15 teams.