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Monday, April 23, 2018

Maguire takes individual title and leads Duke to runaway victory in ACC Championship


   When Leona Maguire made it clear that she was playing out her career at Duke through the spring of her senior season, she also made it clear that she wanted to go out with an NCAA Championship.
   The native of Cavan, Ireland has twice won the Annika Award as Division I’s top player. She has played on a winning Curtis Cup side for Great Britain & Ireland on her home sod in suburban Dublin two years ago.
   But you can’t win an NCAA title without some help. Maguire and Duke got a huge boost with the arrival of Jaravee Boonchant, a freshman from Thailand who has been solid since the moment she arrived in Durham.
   There were proven commodities in Ana Belac, a sophomore from Slovenia, and Virginia Elena Carta, the junior from Italy who, in the space of few months in 2016, won the NCAA individual title going away and reached the final of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Rolling Green Golf Club. But neither Belac nor Carta have been themselves for much of the year.
   And there was Maguire’s twin sister Lisa, whose game has been all over the place at Duke while her sister was at or near the top of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) for most of the last few years.
   Well, look out because all those loose ends seemed to have tied themselves together in the ACC Championship, which concluded with a rampaging victory for the Blue Devils, ranked fifth in the latest Golfstat rankings, Monday at the Grandover Resort’s East Course in Greensboro, N.C.
   Leona Maguire claimed her third ACC individual title in a tense three-hole playoff with her teammate Boonchant after they had finished four shots clear of the rest of the field.
   The ACC Championship was moved to Grandover late in the season and it was layout largely unfamiliar to most of the players. A little wind and rain kicked up for Monday’s final round, the kind of conditions that the Maguire sisters are much more comfortable in than most.
   None of it bothered the Dookies as they opened with a 6-under 282 over the 6,122-yard, par-72 East Course layout Saturday, added a 7-under 281 in Sunday’s second round and finished up with a 2-under 286 Monday for a 15-under 849.
   Each round was the best of the day and Duke finished 27 shots ahead of runnerup Florida State, ranked 30th. It was kind of like the Blue Devils were playing a different golf course than everybody else was.
   The ACC is filled with talented players and many teams that, while maybe not ranked in the top 20, are ranked between 20 and 40 are capable of putting together some very good tournament results.
   The Seminoles had a final round of 8-over 296 to finish second at 12-over 876. No. 31 Clemson was another shot behind Florida State in third after a final-round 294. It was eight more shots back to No. 33 Virginia in fourth at 885 after a solid 2-over 290 in the final round. No. 19 Wake Forest struggled in the final round with a 300 to take fifth at 890.
   No. 27 Miami finished sixth at 893 after a final round of 294 and No. 20 Louisville was seventh at 894 after a final round of 4-over 292.
   It was a disappointing day for Brynn Walker, the two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, and No. 21 North Carolina as the Tar Heels shared eighth place with No. 32 North Carolina State at 895. North Carolina flashed its talent with an even-par 288 in the second round, but struggled to a 301 in the rain and wind Monday. The Wolfpack moved up a little with a final round of 5-over 293.
   Rounding out the top 10 was No. 46 Notre Dame, which finished up with an encouraging 6-over 294 to end up at 34-over 898.
   Maguire, No. 2 in the latest Women’s WAGR, put the field on notice by opening with a 5-under 67 in Saturday’s opening round. She added a 2-under 70 Sunday before finishing up with a 1-over 73 for a 6-under 210 total.
   Boonchant moved into contention with a 67 of her own in Sunday’s second round that left her a shot behind her teammate heading into the final round. Boonchant was able to catch Maguire with an even-par 72 that also left her at 6-under.
   The pair each parred the first two holes of the playoff before Boonchant blinked with a bogey and Maguire claimed her third ACC title.
   But even more heartening for Duke coach Dan Brooks was the play of Belac and Carta. Belac sandwiched a 74 with a pair of 2-under 70s to finish tied for third at 2-under 214. Carta, who has struggled with injuries for much of the season, but is still No. 23 in the Women’s WAGR, bettered par with her second-round 70 and her final-round 71 to finish in the foursome tied for fifth at even-par 216.
   And Lisa Maguire was solid. Her opening round of 74 was the final counter for the Blue Devils and she added rounds of 76 and 79 to finish in the group tied for 40th at 229.
   It was Duke’s second straight ACC crown and its 21st overall, 20 of which have come under Brooks. They are going to be a handful in the postseason especially with the determined Leona Maguire leading the way.
   Florida State’s Morgane Metraux, a senior from Switzerland, shared third with Belac at 2-under 214. Metraux moved into contention with a 3-under 69 in the second round before finishing up with an even-par 72. She was the only player not wearing blue to finish under par over a course that challenged some  of the best players in college golf.
   One of those players is Wake Forest junior Jennifer Kupcho, one spot behind Maguire in the Women’s WAGR at No. 3. She shared second placed with Maguire in some horrendous weather in the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms a year ago. Kupcho was named last week to the U.S. team that will  challenge Maguire and GB&I in the Curtis Cup Match at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. in June.
   Kupcho of Westminster, Colo. finished up with a 2-over 74 Monday to join Carta and two others in the group tied for fifth at even-par 216.
   Rounding out the foursome at 216 were Florida State’s Amanda Doherty, a sophomore from Atlanta, who struggled to a final-round 77 after a sparkling 5-under 67 in Sunday’s second round, and Virginia’s Beth Lillie, a freshman from Fullerton, Calif. who fired a final round of 3-under 69.
   Clemson’s Alice Hewson, a junior from the United Kingdom, had the best round of the day Monday, a 4-under 68 to finish alone in ninth at 1-over 217.
   North Carolina had been playing some of its best golf of the season coming into the weekend, but couldn’t sustain it. The Tar Heels got off on the wrong foot in Saturday’s opening round as the best scores they could muster were a couple of 76s by Walker, a sophomore, and Kelly Whaley, junior from Farmington, Conn. who had really found her game this spring.
   But then Mariana Ocano, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla. who has developed into a really nice player this season, fired a 5-under 67 in Sunday’s second round. Walker matched par with a 72. Whaley had a 1-over 73. And Bryana Nguyen, a senior from Columbia, Md., and Ava Bergner, a freshman from Germany who was North Carolina’s best player last fall, each posted a 76.
   It was an even-par 288 and the Tar Heels appeared headed for a top-five finish. But Bergner’s 74 was the best North Carolina could offer in a final-round 301.
   Ocano was actually the Tar Heels’ top finisher, a final-round 79 leaving her at 7-over 223. Whaley finished up with a 75 to end up in the group tied for 25th at 224. Walker, with a final-round 77, finished in the group tied for 30th at 225.
   Nguyen’s final-round 75 left her among the group tied for 37th at 228 and Bergner’s final-round 74 left her in the group tied for 44th at 230.
   North Carolina will hear its name called when the NCAA regional tickets are handed out Wednesday. They showed an incredible amount of grit in making it out of the Athens Regional a year ago and again in finishing one shot out of the top eight that qualified for match play at Rich Harvest Farms. This would seem to be a better team this year, at times it has been much better than that team. It will be interesting to see how the Tar Heels respond.
   I have no idea if Notre Dame will earn a regional berth. But if Monday’s round was their last of the season, the Irish did themselves proud.
   It has not been a great year for junior Isabella DiLisio, whose 2013 PIAA Class AAA championship as a junior at Mount St. Joseph preceded Walker’s two for Radnor. She opened the ACC Championship with a pair of 82s. But she showed the kind of player she is with the low round of the day Monday for the Irish, an even-par 72 that helped them put together a solid 6-over 294.
   DiLisio’s 236 total left her alone in 56th, the worst finish for a Notre Dame player.
   Always steady Emma Albrecht, a junior from Ormond Beach, Fla., finished up with a 74 to end up in the group tied for 18th at 5-over 221. Maddie Rose Hamilton, a junior from Louisville, Ky., snuck into the top 20 as her final-round 75 left her in the group tied for 20th at 222.
   Mia Ayer, a sophomore from Waco, Texas, carded a solid 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round to finish among the group tied for 34th at 227. Abby Heck, a freshman from Memphis, Tenn., finished in the group tied for 49th at 233 after a final-round 77.







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